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in 2022 with funding from 
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Copyright 


THE HOPE OF THE WORLD 


‘Tasks for Young 
Disciples 


Intermediate Department 
Third Year, Part II 


BY / 
WALTER ALBION SQUIRES, B.D. 


: JZ 

The Westminster Textbooks of 
Religious Education for Church | 
Schools Having Sunday, Week 
Day, and Expressional Sessions 


Edited by 
JOHN T. FARIS, D.D. 


PHILADELPHIA 
THE WESTMINSTER PRESS 
1924 





Copyright, 1924 
By F. M. BRASELMAN 


Printed in the United States of America 


Preface 


GENERAL PLAN OF THE WESTMINSTER 
TEXTBOOKS OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 


The Westminster Textbooks of Religious Education 
aim to unify the educational program of the individual 
church by furnishing a graded course of study suitable 
for Sunday-school classes, week-day  church-school 
classes, and expressional organizations. ‘The lessons are 
so constructed as to make the Sunday sessions largely 
devotional and the week-day sessions largely informa- 
tional. Suggestions are given for an expressional meet- 
ing in which pupils discuss the application of the truths 
they have learned to their own life problems. In these 
meetings they plan for various forms of Christian serv- 
ice, without which mere information and formal devotion 
are devoid of any great religious value. 

Churches planning to use these textbooks will need 
to provide for one hour of religious instruction on week 
days, in addition to their Sunday program. In the 
Primary, Junior, and Intermediate Departments of the 
Sunday school, the Westminster Textbooks will replace 
the lesson materials heretofore in use. The expressional 
work of the Westminster Textbooks will supplant the 
usual topics in the Junior and Intermediate Christian 
Endeavor Societies, or new organizations will be formed 
to have charge of this phase of the educational task of 
the church. 

The lessons in this series of textbooks may be used 
in the week-day classes independently of the Sunday 
school. In this case, however, there will be no corre- 
lated and unified program for the educational activities 
of the church. 

In carrying out the plan it is desirable that, so far 
as possible, the same teachers be in charge in all three 
sessions of the school. Where this is not possible, there 
should be one efficient supervisory Board or Committee 
of Religious Education and an efficient superintendent 
for the whole program. 

111 


SUGGESTIONS CONCERNING THE GOAL OF 
THE LESSONS IN THIS VOLUME 


These lessons aim to give the pupils a comprehensive 
view of the tasks of the Church. So large a subject 
cannot, of course, be treated exhaustively in a single 
volume; nor is such a treatment desirable with Inter- 
mediate pupils. With these facts in view, detailed 
descriptions of home-mission enterprises and of foreign- 
mission fields: have not been undertaken. The aim has 
been to give the pupils a view of the work of the Chris- 
tian Church as one great and varied task. It was felt 
that such a course would lay a foundation for more 
detailed studies in the after years. 

The informational foundation mentioned in the pre- 
ceding paragraph is by no means the chief goal of these 
lessons. Intermediate pupils are just entering upon 
life’s greatest ideal-forming period. The teacher of these 
lessons must herself be stirred by the thought of the 
profound tasks which she is endeavoring to bring before 
her pupils. She must cause the souls of her pupils to 
be emotionally stirred, or her teaching will be of little 
value. If pupils go through these lessons and feel no 
inward call to be about their Father’s business, the course 
has failed in one of its most important objectives. 

' The course aims to lead pupils not only to know and 
to feel but also to do. If pupils finish the study of these 
lessons without having entered actively into some phase 
of the manifold task of the Church, the teaching process 
will have fallen short of completion and no large results 
can be expected. Information which ends with some 
added knowledge is soon forgotten and makes no im- 
pression of any great value on the personality of the 
pupil. Emotion which does not find expression in action 
degenerates into weak sentimentality. But information 
emotionalized and given expression in life and conduct 
will build ideals which rule the life and ennoble the 
whole personality. It is therefore the goal of these 
lessons to give Intermediate pupils information concern- 
ing the great tasks of the Church, to cause them to 
1V 


THE GOAL OF THE LESSONS IN THIS VOLUME v 


respond to these sublime enterprises of the Church with 
all the buoyant spiritual enthusiasm of their young lives, 
and to lead them to lay hold on the tasks with a devotion 
which will enable them to accomplish great things for 
the Kingdom of God in their day and generation. 


SUGGESTIONS CONCERNING THE WEEK DAY 
SESSION 


The week-day session is intended to be the main 
informational period _of the correlated school. It is 
highly desirable to have trained teachers in this part 
of the work, and in most communities they should be 
paid. Classes can usually be much larger in the week- 
day sessions than they are in the Sunday sessions. The 
week-day teacher should make frequent reviews, so as to 
be sure that both the week-day lesson material and the 
Sunday lesson material are being mastered by the pupils. 
It necessary, arrangements should be made for repeating 
lessons in case they have not been mastered. This will 
be possible because the lessons are not limited to any 
time schedule. 

Suggestions are given for supplemental lesson mate- 
rials, to be used at the discretion ofithe teachereawin 
each week-day lesson. This supplemental material is 
so selected that it emphasizes the main truths of the 
regular lesson. It may be assigned to individual pupils, 
or be given to the class for home work in addition to the 
textbook material. 

In some chapters of the book, suggestions are given 
concerning stereoptican slides which illustrate the sub- 
jects treated in the lesson materials. Teachers will find 
these pictures and the lectures which accompany them 
to be of great value in creating interest in the course and 
in imparting information. 


vi 


SUGGESTIONS CONCERNING THE SUNDAY 
SESSION 


The Sunday session of the correlated school is chiefly 
responsible for training the pupils in worship. When- 
ever possible, the lesson materials for the Sunday lesson 
have been chosen with this end in view. The attain- 
ment of the desired goal will depend largely upon the 
department superintendent and the teachers. If pos- 
sible, each department should meet by itself. An opening 
service may thus be built around the lesson theme for 
the day. Songs may be sselected which are in harmony 
with the lesson materials. 

Every effort should be made to secure and maintain 
a spirit of reverence and devotion throughout the whole 
of the Sunday session. Intermediate pupils are old 
enough to be given a large share in the service of wor- 
ship, and it is highly desirable that this privilege be 
given tothem. Pupils may be asked to read the Scripture 
lesson, take up the offering, lead in prayer, and in other 
ways assist in the service. 

The teacher of the Sunday session ought to be familiar 
with the materials presented to the pupils on week days 
and with the program to be carried out in the expressional 
meetings, Jtas only thus that the desired unity can be 
obtained in the pursuit of the course. The Sunday 
teacher ought to have the privilege of reviewing the 
week- -day lesson and of using the questions which are 
found in the material for the expressional meetings. The 
pupils will be all the better prepared for the expressional 
meeting if they have discussed these questions with their 
Sunday teacher. 

Fach Sunday lesson contains a lesson prayer. Many 
teachers use these prayers for a brief period of worship 
at the beginning of the lesson period or at its close. 
Teachers may compose their own prayers, or ask pupils 
to do so. Pupils should be encouraged to offer extem- 
poraneous prayer. ‘The classroom worship may thus 
be made an agency, next in power to the family altar, 
for training the devotional life. 

vil 


viii CONCERNING THE SUNDAY SESSION 


Each Sunday lesson contains suggestions concerning 
supplemental lesson materials. This supplemental mate- 
rial may be assigned to individual pupils in advance work 
to be reported to the class, or it may be given to the 
class as home reading. Its aim is to illustrate further 
the main truths of the regular lesson. 


SUGGESTIONS CONCERNING THE EXPRES- 
SIONAL SESSION 


The expressional meeting is of great importance. In 
this session the pupils learn spiritual initiative and self- 
expression. By carrying out the program of activities 
planned in the expressional meetings, pupils make the 
truths which they have learned a part of their daily 
life and conduct. ‘The superintendent of the expressional 
sessions has, therefore, a task of utmost importance. So 
far as possible, the expressional session should be carried 
on by the pupils themselves. This is their meeting, 
in which they plan to put into effect what they have 
learned in the other sessions of the church school. 

It is recommended that the expressional meetings, 
whenever possible, should be organized as Christian En- 
deavor societies. There is distinct value in being thus 
connected with a great national organization and in being 
a part of a community organization of young people such 
as a Christian Endeavor union. The using of topics 
other than those prepared by the Christian Endeavor 
Society in no way makes it necessary for the expressional 
organizations of the correlated school to be independent 
of the Christian Endeavor movement. 

For the convenience of the leader of the meeting 
and the superintendent of the organization, the material 
for the expressional session is grouped under certain 
heads. First comes a briet, suggestive study of some 
passage of Scripture bearing on the topic of the meeting. 
This is intended as the basis for the opening talk of the 
leader of the meeting. Then come some statements of 
truths to be discussed in the meeting. These state- 
ments are offered as illustrations. It is expected that 
the superintendent and pupils will formulate many such 
statements of their own. 

The review questions will help to tie the expressional 
session to the other sessions of the school. They will 
also prepare the minds of the pupils for the meeting by 
refreshing their memory of what has been studied. These 
questions may be used in a variety of ways, which will 

1X 


se CONCERNING THE EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 


suggest themselves to the trained teacher or superin- 
tendent. 

The Bible verses have some direct bearing on the 
topic and ought not to be merely read by the pupils. 
Verses should be assigned to pupils before the meeting 
so that they will have time to study them and to become 
prepared to speak on them intelligently and helpfully. 

The study topics ought to be taken up as one of the 
main parts of the session. They aim to bring the truths 
taught into direct contact with the life problems of the 
pupils. It will be found best to assign these topics 
some time before the meeting. Some will require con- 
siderable investigation and a few will require correspond- 
ence with Boards of the Church. These ought to be 
assigned long enough in advance to enable pupils to 
make the needed preparation. By glancing ahead at 
the lessons the superintendent will be able to determine 
which topics should be assigned a considerable time 
in advance. If pupils have given the topics no previous 
study and express merely such thoughts concerning them 
as happen to come to their minds on the spur of the 
moment, the topics will miss the object for which they 
were intended. , 

It is expected that the class will carry on a program 
of activities which will be a practical expression of the 
truths they have found and to which they have promised 
allegiance. This program of activities is of special 1m- 
portance in the lesson course outlined in this book, since 
it deals with the great missionary tasks of the Church. 
When engaged in the study of the lessons, which are 
distinctly missionary in their character, the teachers of 
the course should correspond with the Board of National 
Missions of the Presbyterian Church and with the Board 
of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church. When 
the lessons are used by denominations other than the 
Presbyterian, the teachers will of course correspond with 
the Boards of their own denomination. 

Helps for Mission Study Which May Be Secured from 
the Boards of the Church. Both the Board of National 
Missions and the Board of Foreign Missions have pub- 
lished valuable aids for the study of missions in their 
respective fields. Some of these helps are as follows: 


CONCERNING THE EXPRESSIONAL SESSION = xi 


1. Books. The Board of Foreign Missions has valu- 
able books dealing with the mission work in most foreign 
countries. Many of these books are intended especially 
for Intermediate pupils and will be found very helpful as 
supplemental material. The Board of National Missions 
has similar books dealing with mission work among 
Negroes, Indians, southern mountaineers, and other forms 
of the home-mission task. 

2. Picture Sheets. The Boards and the Missionary 
Education Movement have prepared excellent picture 
sheets which will be found exceedingly helpful by the 
wide-awake teacher. These pictures make excellent ma- 
terial for illustrated notebook work. 

3. Post Cards. Beautifully colored post cards illus- 
trating mission work may be had from the Boards. 

4. Maps. The study of missions will be greatly aided 
by the use of suitable maps. The Board of Foreign 
Missions can furnish maps of all the mission fields under 
itcecontrol. Lhe Board ot National Missions also has 
excellent blue-print maps of many of its fields of 
activity. 3 

5. Plays and Pageants. Dramatics and pageantry are 
potent agencies for teaching missions. The Boards have 
lists of plays and pageants, and the teachers of this 
course should plan to use this important educational 
material at least occasionally. 

6. Pamphlets and Leaflets. Both Boards have ex- 
tensive pamphlet and leaflet material. The “Pen Pic- 
tures” of the various missions, printed by the Board 
of Foreign Missions, are especially valuable. 

Vempleetwters icone Missionaries, Interesting letters 
written by missionaries on the field are availabie, and 
they add a personal interest to the study of missions, 
which is hard to attain otherwise. 

Things to Do. What the pupils do for the cause of 
missions while studying these lessons is a matter of 
utmost importance. Diligent and resourceful teachers 
will find some task to be done by the pupils for the 
mission work in every country of the foreign field and in 
every group of the home-mission field. The teachers of 
the course should secure a leaflet entitled “Things to 


xii CONCERNING THE EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 


Do” which is published by the Mission Board. Some 
of the suggestions in this leaflet are as follows: 


Gifts Which Are Acceptable in All Home Mission Fields 


Aprons Hair Ribbons 
Balls Napkins 
Beads Pencils and Paper 
Bedding Rugs 

Books Tablecloths 
Brushes Ties 

Combs Toys 
Clothing Towels 

Dolls Soap 

Games Wash Cloths 
Handkerchicfs 


Gifts Which Are Acceptable in All Foreign Mission Fields 


Picture Rolls and Pic- Games 
ture Cards for Sun- Kindergarten Supplies 


day Schools Victrola Records 
Pictures Christmas Tree Ornaments 
PostuGaras Pencils 
Christmas and Faster ‘Toothbrushes 
Cards Crochet Hooks 
Scrapbooks Toys 
Small Picture Books Dolls 
Books of Travel Cloth 
Magazines | 


The Boards will also give suggestions concerning gifts 
especially acceptable in the various mission fields studied 
in this course. Any group planning to send gifts to 
the mission field should get in touch with the Board 
concerned before starting work on the project. 

For lists of missionary material, write the Depart- 
ment of Missionary Education or the Mission Boards. 

All of the supplementary material listed under the 
several lessons may be ordered from the Board to whose 
work the lesson refers. There is, in addition, a great 
deal of leaflet material that may be so ordered. See 
Board catalogues. 

Lantern slides should be ordered as follows: 


CONCERNING THE EXPRESSIONAL SESSION xiii 


BoarpD oF NATIONAL MISSIONS 


Eastern Section 
156 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 
Great Lakes and Northwestern 
Room 1323, 
77 West Washington Street, 
Chicago, Illinois. 
Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast 
406 Columbia Building, 
313 West Third Street, 
Los Angeles, California. 
Southwest and Southeast Section 
1220 Arcade Building, 
St. Louis, Missouri. 


BoARD OF ForEIGN MIssIoNns 


New York City 
Lantern Slide Deparinene 
156 Fifth Avenue. 
Chicago, Illinois 
Rev. Frank W. Bible, District Secretary, 
77 West Washington Street, 
Chicago, Illinois. 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 
Centralized Slide Service, 
Columbia Bank Building. 
St. Louis, Missouri 
Mr. J. M. Patterson, Southern District Secretary, 
Arcade Building. 
Omaha, Nebraska 
Centralized Slide Service, 
Peters Trust Building. 
Minneapolis, Minnesota 
Drow Ks Harshaw, 
838 Plymouth Building. 
San Francisco, California 
Dr. W. T. Johnson, Western District Secretary, 
U/Sanosth treet. 
Portland, Oregon 
Woman’s Board of Foreign Missions, 
Room 310, 
407 Washington Street. 


xiv CONCERNING THE EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 


Los Angeles, California 
Rev. Guy W. Wadsworth, 
313 West Third Street. 


Projects of Service. Groups using these lessons ought, 
of course, to plan and to carry out definite service for some 
of the fields. studied), Discovermtrom the appre nmr 
Board what work is being supported by boys and girls 
and undertake a share in it. The group should become 
thoroughly acquainted with this work by various interest- 
ing methods of research and presentation. Make use of 
letters from the field (supplied by the Boards to those 
having definite share in the work), stories, simple dram- 
atizations (preferably worked out by the group itself), 
pictures, posters, and similar material. 

There are numerous useful gifts that boys and girls 
can make and send to the mission field. Select your field. 
Write to the Board concerned for full information. It is 
necessary to have certain facts clearly in mind in order 
to do really helpful work. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 


General Plan of the Westminster Textbooks of 


IOUS Pit iica ll Olme smartest, ia, onda ili 
Suggestions Concerning the Goal of the Lessons in 
MA MV OLIITI Caner Nt Mie nA Merc. oh Scorch Gitta AM Uy iv 
Suggestions Concerning the Week Day Session.... vi 
Suggestions Concerning the Sunday Session....... vii 
Suggestions Concerning the Expressional Session... ix 
SHEL ONet 
Poko Or Poh HOME CAND 
CHAPTER I. Helping the American Indian to 
indeaw Ne yieurailamn eae 
CHAPTER Il) Vendine a, Handéto Our Colored 
BrOth Orsi ane emia ete eed. 
CHAPTER Pie Bearnnonwa New Light. Into the 
DBOUtNenne Ml Glntainsrennee (nae 35 
CHAPTER IV. Helping Our Spanish Speaking 
INGIDTDOLSE Gbite cedcok’ hace aeetes 50 
CHAPTER V. Planting God’s Kingdom in the 
(Ear y ACH IMTS S 1 Linh, a5 Cee es 64 
CHAPTER VI. Winning Country Communities 
fom@hnistandsthe Church. an 79 


CrAarine (Vil Leading; Jewish, People to’<the 
A ViOUIO ete NV Orden meer. 94 


CHaptER VIII. Standing by Our Brothers in the 
Land of the Midnight Sun.... 108 


CHAPTER Pe ButldinesasChurch, schoolaPro- 
gram of Which We Need Not 
Bea slain carer ei re We 


XV 


Xvi 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 


SECTION II 


TASKS IN OTHER LANDS 


CHAPTER n€ 


CHAPTER Sle 
CHAPTER RX LL 
CHAPTER XIII. 
CHAPTER XIV. 
CHAPTER XV. 


CHAPTER») Tex Vel: 
CHAPTER XVII. 


PAGE 
South America, the Neglected 


Continentac? oe. an ee 139 
Africa, the Dark Continent..... 154 
India, the Land of Mystery..... 169 


China, a Vast and Ancient Nation 183 
Japan, the Sunrise Kingdom.... 198 


Korea, the Land of the Morning 
Calm cc ae Gee ee a | 


Siam and the Philippine Islands. 224 
Missions in Mohammedan Lands pany 


SiC Lie Nmhbs 





WORLD-WIDE TASKS IN WHICH CHRISTIANS 
OF ALL LANDS MUST WORK TOGETHER 


GHAPTERIX VILE 


CUA DPR Ray meNTLEN 


CHAPTER XOX: 


CHAPTER a0 XI: 


The Establishment of World 


Peace eee soe Za 
The Attainment of World-Wide 
‘Temperance. «2. ¢ ee 267 


The Reuniting of the Followers 
of).Christ? (2. .20.). aunt ne 281 


The Securing of Industrial 
Righteousness for All the 
Barth’, .)s¢uhys tee nant ee 296 


SECTION I 
TASKS OF THE HOMELAND 


“Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah, 

The people whom he has chosen for his own inherit- 
ance.”—Ps, 33:12. 

“Righteousness exalteth a nation; 

But sin is a reproach to any people.”—Prov. 14:34. 

“And I will take you to me for a people, and I will 
be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am 
Jehovah your God.”—E*x. 6:7a. 

“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your 
doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 
leatn to do well; seek justice; relieve the op- 
pressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” 
—Isa. 1:16, 17. 





(Gama EAD RG all 


HELPING THE AMERICAN INDIAN TO FIND 
A NEW TRAIL 


WEEK DAY SESSION 
THE INDIANTASCHE, WAS 
Eph., ch. 2 


When Jesus taught his disciples to pray that God’s 
Kingdom might be established upon earth, he set before 
them the most sublime ideal ever presented to mankind. 
When he bade them go “and make disciples of all the 
nations,” he laid upon them the most sublime task ever 
intrusted to mankind. The ideal and the task are closely 
related, for the task is only the carrying out of the 
program which is to make the ideal a reality. The ideal 
of Jesus and the task which he gave to his followers 
have been handed on from generation to generation for 
nearly two thousand years. Some generations have made 
notable progress toward the realization of the ideals of 
Jesus; others have done but little toward realizing these 
ideals. Sometimes the cause of Christ has even suffered 
loss. 

This book is written for the boys and girls who are 
catching their first visions of the ideals of Jesus, his 
plans for universal brotherhood and a Kingdom in which 
the will of God shall be done on earth as it is done in 
heaven. It is written for boys and girls, who will soon 
be the men and women on whose shoulders shall rest 
the responsibility for carrying on the great task which 
Jesus laid upon his followers. It is written in the hope 
that it may help boys and girls to be the kind of men 
and women they must be if the cause of Christ is to 
prosper in their times. 

The aim of this book is to bring before young people 
the program which the Christian ‘Church of America is 
carrying on for the establishment of God’s Kingdom 

3 


4 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


in this country and throughout the world. It deals with 
tasks pertaining to the coming of God’s Kingdom. The 
first section of the book deals with Kingdom ‘tasks in the 
homeland. The second section deals with some Kingdom 
tasks in other lands. The third section deals with some 
Kingdom tasks in which our nation must cooperate with 
other nations of the world. 

In this first lesson we are to study about the Amer- 
ican Indian and the progress which the Church and the 
nation are making in their efforts to guide him into 
the pathway which leads to Christian citizenship. The 
responsibility of the American Church for the spiritual 
welfare of the Indian is surely one of its first respon- 
sibilities. These people dwell in the midst of our own 
country. They are our neighbors. We have entered their 
homeland which they had held for thousands of years 
and we have brought about conditions which make it 
necessary for the Indians to become Christian eftizens 
or to perish as a race. In studying this task of the 
Church and the nation, it will be well for us to learn 
something of the natural characteristics of the Indian 
race, to glance at the Indian as he was before the coming 
of the white man to America. 

Physical Excellence. The American Indians possessed 
many marks of physical excellence before they were 
smitten by the white man’s diseases and cursed by the 
white man’s “fire’ water.’ In all the vast ¥streremmon 
the two continents which make up the Western Hemi- 
sphere, there was no race of Indian dwarfs or pigmies 
such as are found among certain African tribes, in the 
Australian continent, and in the Andaman Islands. The 
Indians were nearly all tall, straight, and well-propor- 
tioned. They possessed great powers of physical en- 
durance. They could endure great extremes of heat 
and cold and could go for a surprisingly long period with- 
out either food or water. They possessed a high degree 
of skill. The powerful giants of Patagonia had a weapon 
called a “bolas” which consisted of a strong leather thong 
with a weight at each end. With this weapon they did 
not fear to attack animals like the jaguar. They hurled 
their bolas with such force and skill that the animal 
which they attacked was in a moment so wrapped about 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 5 


with the leather thongs that it became helpless. Feats 
of strength and skill were their constant pastime. In 
their hands the humble bow and arrows became a deadly 
weapon. They were natural athletes and it is not an 
accident that Indians have more than once carried off 
the highest honors in great athletic contests like the 
Olympian games. 

Keen Minds. ‘The Indians possessed mental powers 
which made them the most formidable savage foe that 
civilized man has ever been called upon to face. Those 
who have known the Indians best have noted their re- 
markable powers of discernment. ‘They possess that 
power which enables them to understand the deeper 
motives and more hidden sentiments of those with whom 
they come in contact. They are not easily deceived. 
They are observant far beyond most white people. The 
trail of a deer through a forest is as plain as day to 
an Indian where a white man could see no trail at all. 
Of that sustained mental effort which enables a white 
man to write a book or invent a phonograph, the prim- 
itive Indian knew little. He was easily susceptible to 
mental fatigue and usually ceased his mental labors at 
the first feeling of weariness. 

Lovers of Liberty. ‘The Indians might say of their 
race, “We were never in bondage to any man.” The 
early European explorers of America tried to make slaves 
of the Indians but their attempts failed. There was some- 
thing in the wild, free spirit of the Indian which would 
not submit to slavery. If that spirit was broken by whip- 
pings and imprisonment, the Indian would sometimes 
work for a little while under a taskmaster, but he was 
ever ready for an attempt to regain his freedom, no matter 
how desperate the venture, and he seldom lived long 
after his proud and liberty-loving spirit was subdued. 

This love of liberty is seen in all that we know about 
the tribal customs of the Indians. The tribe had no 
king. Leadership was not handed down from father to 
son by any fixed rule. The most daring leader usually 
became chief of the tribe. The momentous questions of 
the-tribe were settled about the council fire where there 
was free discussion. Their system of government was 
democratic rather than despotic. 


6 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


Souls Profoundly Religious. The primitive Indian was 
a child of Nature. He lived in constant contact with the 
whole out-of-door world. His wigwam was_ beside 
“the shining big sea water.” He learned the ways of the 
wild beasts and the birds, for his life depended upon his 
skill in their pursuit. Mountain and lake and river and 
waterfall entered into his experiences to an extent hard 
for a city-bred white person to understand. He was 
often abroad at night on some venturesome enterprise, 
a silent man under the silent stars. 

Other primitive people have had a contact with nature 
as intimate as that of the Indian, but the Indian, being 
by nature a thinker, has felt as few savage races have felt 
the spiritual influence of the natural world. The Indian 
felt everywhere a spiritual presence in the natural world 
about him. He peopled all nature with spirits. These 
spirits dwelt in trees, in waterfalls, in mountains, and in 
lakes. There were spirits in animals and birds which 
were very much akin to the spirit within his own breast; 
hence the Indian sometimes made apologies to the ani- 
mals and birds he killed for food. 

So keen was the Indian’s insight into nature that he 
caught glimpses of the Creator God who has made all 
things. Early visitors to some of the California Indians 
overheard them speaking in awed tones of “The Old 
Man Above.” ‘There was nothing irreverent in the use 
of this term to express what the Indian believed about 
the creative Spirit which he felt lay back of all nature. 
Old men were honored among them and they were seek- 
ing to give the Great Spirit an honored title when they 
called him an old man. The Algonquin tribes believed 
in a Deity or Spirit superior,to man and they called 
this Spirit Manitou. The Sioux Indians believed in 
“Taku Wakan” as the spiritual force which was mani- 
fested in all the natural world. These words mean “the 
something mysterious.” 

“The Noble Red Man.” The term “noble red man” 
has often been applied to the Indian, and it is a remark- 
able fact that, notwithstanding the many wars which 
have been waged between the whites and the Indians, 
most white people feel that the Indian is entitled to the 
name. In the preceding paragraphs we have seen some 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES i 


of the reasons why this is the case. The Indian pos- 
sessed many of the traits which people cannot but admire. 
We must not conclude, however, that the Indian in his 
primitive condition was perfect, nor must we conclude 
that he had no need of the Christian religion which the 
white man has brought to him. Indeed, we have been 
looking at only one side of Indian character and it is 
necessary for us now to look briefly at the other side. 

The Indian’s Great Need. The great need of the Indian, 
and that for which his soul was yearning, was a knowledge 
of God more abundant than he could gain through the 
world of nature which lay about him. He needed to 
know God as he is revealed in the Bible, in the lives of 
great men like Abraham and Elijah and Moses. Above 
all, he needed to know God as he is revealed in the 
life and in the teachings of Jesus. Without such a 
knowledge the character of the Indian was woefully de- 
fective notwithstanding his many noble qualities. He 
was cruel and revengeful to a marked degree. He knew 
nothing of the divine law of forgiveness taught by Jesus. 
No sage had ever risen among the Indians to tell them 
that they ought to love their enemies and pray for those 
who persecuted them. With the Indian the “eye for eye, 
tooth for tooth” law held universal sway. 

The Indian was a constant victim of superstitious 
fear. The flight of a bird across his path might cause 
him to quake with sudden fear because he looked upon 
the incident as a portent of some dreadful disaster await- 
ing him. The Indian’s religion made him a man of 
prayer, and few races pray as the Indian does, but his 
prayers were petitions for his own safety rather than 
soulful aspirations after a life which is pure and good. 

What the Indian May Become. Enough has been said 
in this lesson to show that the American Indian has im- 
mense possibilities for development into true grandeur 
of character. E;very Indian child is born heir to an in- 
heritance of inestimable value. Every Indian child comes 
into life with something of that physical excellence which 
was built up by his ancestors in the untold ages during 
which they lived a free and natural life in the American 
wilderness, something of the keenness of mind which has 
characterized the red man in all centuries, something 


8 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


of the deep soul longings which have so long expressed 
themselves in Indian religion. Add to this inheritance a 
knowledge of the religion of Jesus and a hearty acceptance 
of the Saviour of the world, and we make it possible 
for the Indian to fulfill the glorious destiny which the 
all-loving Father intended for him. We can give him the 
religion of Jesus, if we will. 


“Savage he was. No books of ancient lore 
Fed him on knowledge of the eons gone. 
No teacher led him to explore 
The mystic meaning of creation’s dawn, 
No poet nor philosopher he knew 
To fire his soul with love and faith and truth. 
Among the whispering firs his childhood grew, 
The mountains fired the spirit of his youth, 
The sounding sea his manhood wonder filled, 
The all-embracing sun his way inspired; 
Night in his path her silvery beauty spilled, 
And nature for him all her voices choired. 
Behold, he stands, the peer of any age, 
A leader, chieftain, ruler, prophet, sage.” 


The verse quoted above is true of the Indian as he 
was if we read it down to the last two lines. These 
last lines may also be true of him if we will give to him 
the Christian religion. Through a knowledge of God 
revealed in Jesus Christ and through a personal accept- 
ance of Jesus as his Saviour and Lord, the Indian becomes 
“the peer of any age, a leader, chieftain, ruler, prophet, 
sage.” | 

GERONIMO THE APACHE 


Soldiers of the American army called old chief Geron- 
imo “the human tiger.” For, years they chased him 
and his band of Apache savages over the sun-scorched 
deserts and rocky, canyon-torn mountains of the South- 
west. Time and again they thought that they had run 
the old marauder out of the country, but as soon as the 
troops withdrew he would turn up again in some unex- 
pected quarter and commit some deed of massacre which 
sent a shudder over all the settlements and mining camps 
of two states. Ten thousand courageous American sol- 
diers seemed utterly unable to catch Geronimo with his 
few hundred braves, 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 9 


At last General Lawton was assigned to the task. He 
approached the problem with the spirit of a student. He 
studied the ways of the desert Indian. He studied the 
country over which they ranged. One day a company of 
soldiers drew near to the camp of Geronimo far back 
among the desert mountains. The Indians, being out- 
numbered, simply vanished from sight as they had always 
done before under similar circumstances. Miles away 
from the deserted camp, Geronimo and his men came 
together again and crossed the mountain range to another 
camp site where they had often been before. As they 
drew near they found it occupied by American soldiers. 
There was nothing to do but make for another distant 
camping place where they could secure water for them- 
selves and their horses. They found this camp also occu- 
pied by the white soldiers. And so from one place to 
another the Indians made their way, but every place 
where there was any water was held by the soldiers. 
General Lawton had discovered every spring and water 
hole over a vast area and had taken possession of these 
places. 

And so it came to pass that Geronimo and his fierce 
band at last came into the camp of the American troops 
famished with thirst and half dead from the dreadful 
heat of the deserts. The surrendered chieftain was car- 
ried far away from his native hills. He became a prisoner 
at Fort Sill in the Indian Territory. 

At Fort Sill, Geronimo heard for the first time in his 
life the story of Jesus. It interested him. In time he said 
that he wished to be a Christian, and finally he was bap- 
tized. When asked about his decision for the Christian 
life, he is reported to have said: “Since my life as a pris- 
oner has begun, I have heard the teachings of the white 
man’s religion, and in many respects believe it to be 
better than the religion of my fathers. However, I have 
always prayed, and I believe that the Almighty has 
always protected me. Believing that in a wise way it is 
good for me to go to church and that in associating with 
Christians it would improve my character, I have adopted 
the Christian religion. I believe that the Church has 
helped me much during the short time I have been a 
member. I am not ashamed to be a Christian,” 


10 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “Facts Every Presbyterian Should Know About 
Indian Work.” 

2. “A Half Century of Honor,” Rodney W. Roundy. 

3. “Ganado Mission” (pictorial leaflet). 

4. ““Tucson Indian [raining school? s(picioga. 
leaflet). 

5, “A Mission School in the Desert/} 

6.09) sALPenn yon y ours) nous hea 

The materials listed above may be secured from the 
Board of National Missions, 156 Fifth Avenue, New 
Y ork eCity. 

Valuable supplemental material for the lessons of this 
chapter may also be secured from Thomas C. Moffett’s 
book, “The American Indian on the New Trail.” This 
book should be in the hands of the teacher of this chapter, 
and certain portions of the book may profitably be as- 
signed to pupils for study and report. ‘The book may be 
secured from any of the depositories of the Publication 
Department of the Board of Christian Education of the 
Presbyterian Church in the U.S, A. 

The study of the Scripture lesson chosen for this 
session of the church school should not be neglected, even 
though space forbids many suggestions concerning such 
a study. Paul’s words to the Ephesians are in many 
cases applicable to the Christian Indians of our land. 


SUNDAY SESSION 
THE TRANSFORMATION OF A RACE 
Tsa.a2ebe4 


These words from Isaiah were uttered about eight 
hundred years before the birth of Christ. At that time 
Jehovah was worshiped by only a few thousand Jews 
and very few even of the Jews knew much about him. 
Moreover, the Jewish people were at the time threatened 
with extinction at the hands of the Assyrian monarchy. 
The worship of Jehovah seemed about to perish from 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 11 


the earth. And yet so great was the faith of the Prophet 
Isaiah that he foresaw a glorious day when all nations 
should turn to the light and should become worshipers 
of the true God. 

The centuries which have passed since Isaiah lived 
have witnessed a wonderful fulfillment of the prophet’s 
words. The knowledge of God has been spreading 
steadily over the earth. Nations and tribes in lands of 
whose very existence Isaiah had no knowledge are to-day 
turning to the worship of the God who was known by 
Isaiah. Among the people who are turning their faces 
Godward are the American Indians. In this lesson we 
are to learn something of how a knowledge of the Chris- 
tian religion is transforming the red race. 

No Longer a Vanishing Race. It has become cus- 
tomary to speak of the Indians as a dying race, or as a 
vanishing race. In time past there was every reason to 
speak of them in this way. The coming of the white 
man seemed for a long time to mean the doom of the 
red man. The Indian’s means of securing a living were 
swept away as the country was settled and the wild 
game disappeared. The tribes were driven into the less 
fertile portions of the country. Diseases introduced by 
the white men swept the Indians away by thousands. 
The white man’s whisky destroyed the Indians by whole- 
sale. It thus came to pass that the Indians grew less 
and less for a good many years. Of late, however, the 
tide has turned and the Indians are increasing in num- 
bers. [hey are naturally a sturdy race. and are sure 
to multiply if given a chance. The Indian race of North 
America is being saved by the civilization and the Chris- 
tian religion which he is learnng from his white brothers. 

What Our Government Is Doing for the Indians. For 
many years the United States Government has been 
trying to help the Indians. Many mistakes have been 
made and the results of the Government’s efforts were 
for a long time not encouraging. Of late, however, better 
methods of dealing with the Indians have been put into 
operation. The Government maintains many schools 
where the Indian children are taught. Land is being 
assigned to individuals as fast as possible. The Indians 
are thus becoming landholders and many have developed 


12 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


into prosperous farmers and stock raisers. The Indian 
custom of holding land as tribes was all right in the 
days when hunting and fishing over wide areas were 
their only ways of gaining a living, but such a method 
of holding land is no longer desirable among them and 
they are rapidly abandoning it under the encouragement 
of the United States Government. 

The Task of the Church in the Transformation of the 
Indian. Our Government recognizes that it cannot do 
all that must be done for the Indians. Those who work 
with these people know that they must be given some- 
thing more than education, something more than lands 
and opportunities to earn a living. Consequently, the 
Government has asked the Churches of the country to 
aid in the transformation of the Indian into American 
citizenship. In the Government schools two hours a 
week are set apart for the religious instruction of the 
Indian children. The Government cannot give this in- 
struction, since with us Church and State must be kept 
separate. ‘The Churches and other religious bodies are 
therefore asked to give the religious instruction during 
the time which the Government schools set apart for 
this work. 

There are many Indian schools which are wholly under 
Church control, so that the educational task of the 
Churches is an important influence in the uplift of the In- 
dian. Churches likewise maintain missions among the 
Indians, helping them to set up church congregations, 
train their ministers, and carry on regular services of 
worship and praise. The transformation of the Indian 
race under the influence of the Christian religion is one 
of the unanswerable evidences of the truth and power 
of the gospel of Jesus. We shall now glance briefly at 
a few illustrations of this transforming process which is 
steadily going on among the Indians. 


A SAVAGE TRIBE TRANSFORMED INTO A CHRISTIAN 
CoM MUNITY 


In the summer of 1857 a company of American soldiers 
were chasing the Apaches over the sun-blistered deserts 
and chasm-torn mountains of Arizona. Among the 
soldiers was a young fellow whom his comrades called 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 13 


“Charlie’ Cook. This young soldier had already seen 
much of the rougher side of life. He had been a sailor 
upon the high seas and knew the hardships of a sea- 
faring life. Certain early experiences had made him a 
disbeliever in religion. Who would have believed that 
this soldier of the frontier was destined for great things 
in the plans of God? Yet such was the case. As a 
sailor and a soldier he was in God’s school, being fitted 
for a great undertaking which God had in view for him. 

A few years later Charlie Cook was in camp at Roch- 
ester, New York. The Civil War was on and the troops 
at) Rochester were soon to be sent to the front. One 
Hieiteneswattended/a service in the Brick, Presbyterian 
Church of Rochester. Something in the sermon gripped 
his heart. Perhaps a thought of the coming conflicts in 
which he would probably be engaged helped to sober 
his mind. At all events that service marked a change 
in his life. 

After passing safely through many battles, Charlie 
Cook was honorably discharged at the close of the war. 
He drifted to Chicago where he became interested in 
city-mission work. One day there fell into his hand 
a paper which told of the pathetic condition of the Indians 
of the Arizona deserts. He had hoped to go some time 
as a missionary to China but now the ex-soldier heard 
an unmistakable call of God to go as a missionary to the 
needy Indians of his own land. He applied to the Mis- 
sion Board of a certain denomination but they told him 
that they had no money for the enterprise. 

Charlie Cook’s rough experiences had made him self- 
reliant. He did not sit down and wait for some task to 
come to him. He determined to undertake the mission 
to which God had called him, even if no Church could be 
found to back up his efforts. So on the first day of Sep- 
tember he set his face toward the land of promised 
service in far-away Arizona. Some friends secured him 
railroad passes from Chicago to a place in Kansas. 
Landing in that prairie state he pushed on westward, trav- 
eling on foot and carrying his blankets, rifle, and a few 
groceries. He stopped to preach in country school- 
houses, on the streets of western towns, in saloons, wher- 
ever opportunity offered. At last he reached his 


14 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


destination, a tribe of desert Indians known as the Pimas. ~ 
Soon after his arrival he was given a position as teacher 
in the Government school among the Pima Indians, and 
continued to hold this position for seven years. God 
had thus provided a means of livelihood for the coura- 
geous young missionary who had dared to trust him. 

The Pimas were a very primitive people. Only thirty 
years before- Mr. Cook arrived among them they had 
looked for the first time upon the face of a white man. 

After a time Mr. Cook extended his missionary work 
among two other desert tribes, the Maricopas and the 
Papagos. The Presbyterian Board of Home Missions 
came to his aid so that he was able to give all his time 
to religious work. He had thrown himself into his task 
with such whole-souled devotion that in a little while 
he had mastered the Indian language. Indeed, it is said 
that the speech of the Indians became more natural to 
him than his mother tongue. 

Before he died Dr. Cook had witnessed a wonderful 
transformation among these desert tribes. Five, flour- 
ishing churches had been established and in some cases 
fine church buildings erected by the Indians themselves. 
Three fifths of the Indians had become professed fol- 
lowers of Jesus. The old superstitions were vanishing. 
The Indians were fast developing into Christian citizens. 

Dr. Cook was able to do the Indians a great service 
by defending them against that wrong which has all too 
often been inflicted upon the red man by his white 
neighbors. ‘These desert tribes had lived for thousands 
of years on their little farms irrigated by waters drawn 
from the Gila and Salt rivers. White settlers came 
and, building irrigation ditches, soon took away all the 
water from the Indians. The three tribes were on the 
verge of starvation. Dr. Cook pleaded with the white 
settlers but they paid no attention. They did not seem 
to think that the Indians had any rights which the white 
people were bound to respect. Dr. Cook carried the mat- 
ter to Washington and secured at least a measure of right 
for the Indians so that they are no longer in danger of 
starvation. Dr. Dirk Lay is now in charge of the work 
so well begun by Dr. Cook. 


RNvGUOMELTASK SHOR YOUNG DISCIPEES 15 


THE WINNING OF THE SIOUX 


The Sioux Indians are a prairie tribe;.a hardy and 
courageous race which has roamed the great plains for un- 
numbered centuries, living by the pursuit of the buffalo, 
elk, and other prairie animals. The Sioux Indians called 
themselves the Dakota nation and their tribe was the 
largest and most warlike in all the plains region. 

In 1834 a young physician, a graduate of Yale, named 
Thomas S. Williamson, came among the Sioux Indians 
as a missionary. For nearly thirty years Dr. Wil- 
liaamson labored on among the Indians of the plains. 
The work developed slowly. After he had been on the 
field for seventeen years there were only thirty-one 
professed Christians among the Sioux. Dr. Williamson 
was not discouraged, however. He knew that he must 
lay the foundation of the Church among the Sioux strong 
and deep. He labored diligently at his task of trans- 
lating the Bible into the Sioux language. He had be- 
gotten and reared a son who was making ready to join 
his father in the great enterprise of winning the Sioux 
for Christ. 

In 1862 there occurred a dreadful Indian outbreak. 
Hundreds of white settlers were massacred by the Sioux. 
Dr. Williamson’s son was in an eastern city at the time 
and was horrified to read in the papers of the Indian 
uprising and the destruction of the missions in which his 
father had labored so long and in which he was hoping 
to spend his life. Fearing that all the missionaries had 
perished, he hastened back to the Indian country. He 
found that, through the aid of the Christian Indians, the 
missionaries had all escaped. Dr. Williamson had labored 
twenty-seven years among the Sioux when the massacre 
occurred. At the time there were only sixty Christian 
Indians in the tribe, but these sixty were true. Not one 
turned traitor to the Christian cause. They risked their 
lives to save the missionaries and their efforts were 
successful. 

Within two months the Indians were scattered far 
and wide and their leaders subdued. Four hundred of 
the leading Sioux warriors were in prison at Mankato. 
The veteran missionary was able to see the hour of op- 


16 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


portunity even in its dark setting. He went to the im- 
prisoned Indians and preached to them Jesus as the 
Saviour of the world. Every man of the four hundred 
imprisoned Indians renounced paganism and embraced 
the Christian religion. Out of that prison went hundreds 
of letters urging the Sioux to accept the Christian faith. 
The letters were written by the Indians to their relatives 
and friends, now scattered over a vast section, the 
Dakotas, Montana, and Canada. Forty of the Indians 
were condemned and hanged, the rest were sentenced 
to four years in the penitentiary. They one and all bore 
their punishment with fortitude and those who paid the 
death penalty stood firm in the faith to the end. The 
Indians who went back to their people after four years 
in the penitentiary became missionaries of the Christian 
faith. A new day dawned for the Sioux. 

The Sioux are now one of the most progressive and 
civilized tribes outside of Oklahoma with its five civilized 
tribes. Four fifths of them are professed followers of 
Christ. Their great camp meetings are attended by thou- 
sands of Indians. Paganism is dead among them. A vig- 
orous race of Indians numbering more than 30,000, they ~ 
are destined to have a great influence in the salvation of 
the other tribes of our land. 


Tue Lesson PRAVER 


We thank thee our Father for the religion of Jesus 
which makes all men brothers. We thank thee for what 
has been done for the Christianizing of the American 
Indian. Help us to do our part in this great task. Teach 
us how to manifest the spirit of Jesus toward people 
of other races and other nations. We ask these things in 
the name of thy Son. Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL, LESSON MATERIAL 


“A New Kind of Indian Story,” by Anne Shannon 
Monroe. This pamphlet may be secured from the Board 
of National Missions of the Presbyterian Church, 156 
Fifth Avenue, New York City. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 17 
EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 


OURS DART IN: GH iwhASswmOn CHRISTLIANIZING 
THE INDIAN 


Rom. 10:8-14 


When William Carey urged the Church leaders of 
his day to send missionaries to India, they said to him, 
“If God wishes the heathen converted he will convert 
them without any help from you or me.” The Church 
has advanced a good deal since that day. Most Chris- 
tains now realize that they have a task to do in the 
conversion of the heathen, that they cannot escape re- 
sponsibility by throwing it back upon the Almighty. 
God sees fit to use human instruments in his plans for 
the redemption of the world. Jesus told his disciples 
to make disciples of all the nations and he has no other 
plan for winning the world. 

If the American Indians are to be Christianized, the 
Christians of America must do their part of the task. 
They must make the gospel known to the red man. They 
must manifest toward their Indian brothers a spirit of 
Christian fellowship and helpfulness. They must put 
into the task earnest effort and give to it adequate finan- 
cial support. 

The Christianizing of the American Indian is peculi- 
arly a task for young America. The foundations have 
been laid, but the task is far from completed. We have 
been a long time at it, too long, indeed. If the oncoming 
generation of Christians will lay hold on the task with 
a will, it may be, to a great extent, accomplished in a 
few years. Young Christians of to-day may well say, 
“Our part in this noble work is to push it on to com- 
pletion.” 


SoME Facts To B&t DISCUSSED IN THE MEETING 


No Christian among the Nez Percé Indians ever uses 
tobacco in any form. They do not think that a Chris- 
tian ought to use tobacco. 

More than half of the full-blooded Indians of the five 
civilized tribes in Oklahoma are Christians. 


18 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


The Nez Percé Indians are sending a number of their 
young men every year as missionaries to other Indian 
tribes of the Northwest. 

There are nearly fifty thousand Indians who have not 
yet been given an opportunity to become Christians. No 
missionary has come among them and no churches have 
been established in their midst. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Tell what you can of the physical, mental, and 
spiritual characteristics of the Indian. 

2. What religious ideas were found among the Indians 
before the coming of the white men? 

3: “show that the great need of the Indianwismide 
Christian religion. 

4. In what ways is our Government helping the 
Indian? 

5. What is the task of the Church in the uplift of the 
red man? 

BriBLE VERSES 


Matt. 7:12:\Gen. 4:9 *\Luke10:36,,37; Prove Oe: 
2:83) 102-15; Hab, 2:15 Mattie 22°38-40" 0M ani 
Coley3:9-1T: 

Topics 


1. Wrongs which the Indian has suffered at the hands 
of the white man. 3 

2. Whence came the red man? (See “The American 
Indian on the New Trail,” by Thomas C. Moffett, p. 3). 

3. Early missions to the Indians. (See Dr. Moffett’s 
book, p. 63.) 

4. Famous Indian chiefs. (Find out about Pontiac, 
King Philip, Tecumseh, Joseph, and others from an en- 
cyclopedia or other source of historical information.) 

5. Indian characteristics which I admire. (May be 


given to several pupils.) 


PRoOsECTS 


The study of this chapter will be of little use unless 
the pupils undertake some definite task for the uplift 
of the Indians. It is suggested that a committee be 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 19 


appointed to have charge of the promotion of this type 
of work for the church-school year. The chairman of this 
committee should write to the Board of National Mis- 
sions asking for information as to what an Intermediate 
society can do to help in the work of Christianizing the 
Indians. The society will thus be placed in contact 
with the task in a very definite way. The Board will 
probably suggest definite fields where help is needed and 
will suggest something which the society can do. Letters 
from Indian schools and missions may thus be secured to 
be read before the society from time to time. Denomina- 
tions other than Presbyterian using this course, should 
of course write to their own Board or Agency in charge 
of Indian work. 


CHAPTER II 


LENDING A HAND TO OUR COLORED 
BROTHERS 


WEEK DAY SESSION 
A PEOPLE: STRUGGLING UP FROM{SLAV ERY 
Num. 14:10; Josh. 1:10-18 


In the preceding chapter we learned about the first 
inhabitants of America who possessed the continent for 
years before our own ancestors reached this side of the 
Atlantic. Now we have in our land representatives of 
nearly all the racés’ ofthe earth wilitwe asm@unienad 
are able to: live together with all theses peopicusasee 
spirit of universal brotherhood and kindly helpfulness, 
the world will see demonstrated the truth and wisdom 
of Christ’s message. In this chapter we are to learn 
about a race whose first home was in Africa, and whose 
members were first brought to the United States as 
slaves in 1619. One of the most prominent Negroes of 
to-day is descended from an African chief who sent his 
son to the coast with a group of men who were to be 
sold as slaves. ‘The men on the ship which was to carry 
the cargo of slaves invited the chief’s son to come aboard 
as their guest. Once aboard, he was drugged and the 
vessel sailed. When the young man awoke, he found 
himself enslaved with the men whom he had delivered 
into captivity. To-day there are more than eleven million 
of his race in our country, and in this chapter we learn 
something of the Negro’s history and progress. 

What Forty Years of Freedom Did for the Israelites. 
The two passages of Scripture chosen as the basis of this 
lesson present striking contrasts. In the first we find the 
Israelites near the borders of Canaan. They are shaken 
with a great fear, for they have heard that the inhabitants 
of the land which they have come up to take are giants, 
dwelling in fortified cities. They cry out in their fear and 

20 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 21 


distress. They murmur against Moses, their leader. They 
long for the “good old days” when they were slaves in 
Kigypt. They are ready to rebel and to stone those who 
have thus far guided them safely. In fact, the Israelites 
at that time were not really a nation, but only a band of 
fugitive slaves lately departed from Egypt. 

In the second picture we find the Israelites again on 
the borders of the Promised Land. Word goes out from 
their leader, “Prepare you victuals; for within three days 
ye are to pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the 
land.” This time there is no quaking fear. There is 
no longing to go back to the miserable safety of Egypt. 
There is no murmuring against the leader, no rebellion 
against rightful authority. How heroically they respond 
to Joshua’s command to prepare! They say to their great 
general, “All that thou hast commanded us we will do, 
and whithersoever thou sendest us we will go.” 

Forty years of freedom had transformed the Israelites. 
They had been changed from a band of superstitious, 
timid slaves into a nation of heroic qualities. They had 
Jearned self-control and self-government. They had tasted 
the freedom of the wilderness to such an extent that they 
could never again be made slaves. Above all, under the 
leadership of Moses, they had come to know in a new 
way the Jehovah God who had talked with their an- 
cestors and who had guided them through many a trying 
experience. They had become freemen—strong, cou- 
rageous, self-reliant, and to a large extent, God-fearing. 

The American Negro Sixty Years Ago. The colored 
people of our own land have been passing through such 
a period as the Israelites passed through in the forty years 
of their wilderness wanderings. In 1863 the Negroes 
were set free from slavery by the Emancipation Proc- 
lamation of Abraham Lincoln. Up to that time they 
had been bought and sold—traded in as are horses or 
cattle. Because their masters always provided some kind 
of food and shelter for them, they had never learned how 
to secure even these necessities of life for themselves. 
Most of them had no opportunity for education. A few 
were taught by their masters’ wives, but only one tenth 
of them could read or write at the time of their eman- 
cipation. 


22 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


A very few of the Negroes had bought their own 
freedom and accumulated a small amount of property. 
Most of them were set free with absolutely no possessions 
and no knowledge of how to make their own way. 

The American Negro To-Day. Although most of us 
may have no opporttinity to know members of the Negro 
race except those who are employed in domestic service, 
we usually find that those whom we do meet are able 
at least to read and write. ‘To-day more than two thirds 
of the race are literate. But even if we do not know 
them personally, there are many thousands of Negro 
business men, and thousands more who are engaged in 
medicine, teaching, and other professions. When we 
think how many centuries it took for our ancestors to 
become civilized in Europe, we look with wonder 
at the progress of this race which suffers under the 
added handicap of having been in slavery. We who 
placed them in that position can still do much to help 
them on their way. Although a much larger number of 
colored children now have an opportunity to go to school, 
we can make it possible for more of them to have the 
advantages which we accept as a matter of course. 

It is well for us to remember that the American 
Negroes are struggling up from slavery. We ought to 
judge them not by their present attainments so much as 
by the depths out of which they have climbed. As a race 
they have made notable progress toward a larger and 
better life since the time when they were set free. 

A Hard-Fought Battle. We must not think that the 
progress of the colored people noted in the preceding 
paragraphs has been made easily. The Negro has had 
to fight against great odds in his upward march. It is 
not an easy task to rise out of poverty, ignorance, and 
evil habits of life. It is hard to live on a high plane even 
when one is helped by the influences which have come 
down from generations of godly ancestors. How much 
harder must it be when one is only a step removed 
from heathen forefathers! 

The battle of the colored people for a higher life is 
not finished. There are constant dangers about them 
which menace all that has been gained. The Negroes 
are flocking to the great cities where they are being em- 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 3 


ployed in mills and factories. ‘They are thus crowded to- 
gether in miserable dwellings because of the high cost 
of rent. The temptations of the city are too great for 
many white people and the Negro is open to the evils 
of the city more than is his white neighbor. 


BooKER IT. WASHINGTON AND TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE 


Some time in 1858 or 1859, no one ever was able to tell 
just which year, a little black boy was born on a Vir- 
ginia plantation. Noone thought enough about the event 
to remember the year in which the child was born, much 
less the day on which he was born, so the little black 
boy grew up without a birthday and without knowing 
just how old he was. The boy’s mother named him 
Booker, and Booker was the only name he bore until 
he was old enough to choose a name for himself. Then 
he chose the immortal name of Washington. 

Booker’s mother was a slave and the family lived in 
a miserable little cabin with only one room, a dirt floor, 
a rickety door, and holes in the walls for windows. 
Booker’s bed was a pile of rags in a corner. The cabin 
was frightfully cold in winter and frightfully hot in 
summer. Booker’s mother had to do the cooking for a 
large band of slaves and all the food had to be prepared 
over a fire in a large fireplace at one end of the cabin. 
The children ate their meals out of a big, iron skillet on 
the dirt floor, fishing out the food with their fingers. 

The little slave was taught to work from his very 
infancy. * Before he was five years of age, he had. to 
carry water to the men in the fields, and stand at 
the white folks’ table driving away the flies. Sometimes 
he had to take corn to the mill. Some slave would lift 
the boy and his sack of corn on a horse and start them 
off for the mill. Sometimes the heavy sack worked over 
to one side of the horse’s back and slipped to the ground, 
bringing down the little slave in its fall. Then Booker 
had to wait until some one came along to help him back 
on the horse. Sometimes he waited far into the night, 
weeping and peering into the darkness with big fright- 
ened eyes. 

When the Civil War ended, Booker was five or six 


24 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


years old. The family was now free and they struck out 
to find new opportunities. They traveled on foot across 
the mountains to West Virginia. Here Booker’s step- 
father, his brother, and Booker himself found work in 
a salt mine. It was hard work for the lad, but he was 
so ambitious to learn that even after working all day 
in the mine he would study far into the night. In this 
way the Negro lad learned to read and write and gained 
a little knowledge of other branches of learning. 

One day he heard of a school for Negro youths which 
was being carried on at Hampton, Virginia. It became 
the dream of his life to attend this school. He lay awake 
nights thinking about it. He had become a coal miner 
by this time, but his wages were small and it seemed 
impossible for him to get enough money to enter the 
school at Hampton. One day he got up and started for 
Hampton, money or no money. He walked nearly all 
the way to the school, working now and then to earn 
enough to buy a little food. He reached his destination 
early one night and having no money to secure lodgings 
he crawled under a board sidewalk and slept there. 

When Booker appeared before the faculty of the school, 
there were some misgivings concerning him. They had 
become accustomed to having all sorts of applicants, 
but none just like this ragged young Negro had ever 
come to the school before. The lad was given a chance 
and soon proved his worth. 

After graduating from Hampton, Booker taught school, 
using his income to help his brother John to secure an 
education. Then he was called back to Hampton to have 
charge of the dormitory for Indian boys. It was a hard 
position, but he proved equal to it. One day the presi- 
dent of Hampton called Booker before him and told him 
of a new school for Negro youths which was being or- 
ganized at Tuskegee, Alabama. He asked Booker to 
become the leader of this new enterprise. At Tuskegee, 
Booker T. Washington found his life work. When he 
went there he was the only teacher and there were no 
buildings and hardly any funds for carrying on the work. 
He built up the institution until it had 2,300 acres of 
land, 120 buildings mostly of brick ayo with stone, 
and a large faculty. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES a) 


His work at Tuskegee Institute made Booker T. Wash- 
ington a national figure; in fact, it made him known 
in educational circles throughout the world. The plans 
he put in operation there have influenced education not 
only in America but also in other lands. Students have 
flocked to ‘Tuskegee from all parts of the nation where 
there are Negroes, and also from the West Indies and 
from Africa. 

Booker T. Washington was a great orator. Many times 
he came before large gatherings of white people who 
were at first either indifferent to his message or opposed 
to him and his work. Nearly always he won them so 
completely that before he had ceased to speak they were 
cheering him and hanging on every word he uttered. 
His message was one of conciliation and brotherhood. 
He appealed to the white man’s love of fair play and his 
sympathy for those who are struggling for a larger and 
better life. Among his own race he cultivated a spirit of 
friendship for members of other races. He warned them 
of the danger which lurks in hatred and bitterness, telling 
them of the love of God in Christ which had freed his own 
soul from these things and which could make them free. 

Mr. Washington helped his people in many ways. He 
taught them how to live peaceably with one another. He 
organized the Negro Business League which encouraged 
many Negroes to enter business and gave them assistance 
in their new ventures. He taught many of them the 
dignity and worth of labor. He introduced better ideas 
as to health and housing, making his influence felt in this 
respect throughout every southern state. 

The great labors of this gifted representative of the 
colored people doubtless shortened his life. When his 
health gave way, he was taken to Saint Luke’s Hospital 
in New York City. When told that his end was near, 
he asked to be taken back to Tuskegee to die. The whole 
nation was watching the trip as newspapers reported the 
details of the journey, and when he died the whole nation 
mourned for the loss of this black man, born a slave 
in a Negro hut with a dirt floor and no windows. It 
honored him because he had shown himself unselfish and 
heroic in his struggle up from slavery and in his untiring 
labors to lift his race to a higher life. 


26 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


The teacher will find much interesting material in the 
following books: 

1. “In the Vanguard of a Race,’ by L. H. Hammond. 
Many biographies of distinguished colored people. 

2. “The Trend of the Races,” by George E. Haynes. 

3. “Racial Relations and the Christian Ideal.” 

4. Leaflets published by the Board of National Mis- 
sions: “The Negro Children of the Southland’; “The 
Belated Scholarship”; “Georgie Ann’s Recipe’; “Our 
Young People at Work for the American Negro”; “Rain- 
bow Series—Negro.” 


SUNDAY SESSION 


THE RACK PROBLEM AND THE CHRISTIAN 
IDEALVOR BROTHERHOOD 


GColgsss le aCale wide lA 


The presence of twelve million Negroes within our 
country raises serious problems for the nation in general 
and for some communities in particular. To show the 
two races, black and white, how they can exist side by 
side and make progress through mutual helpfulness and 
brotherliness is one of the great tasks of the Christian 
Church of our land. The Christian religion holds the 
key to the situation. 

A Situation Delicate and Dangerous. ‘That the situa- 
tion arising from the contact of these two races in our 
country 1s both delicate and dangerous is evidenced by 
several race riots which have occurred in various sec- 
tions of our country. A strained relationship which 
threatens to develop into serious trouble is usually evi- 
dent in communities where there are many colored people 
and many white people in close contact with one another. 
Race hatred and race prejudice find a fertile ground in 
such communities and all too often these evils bear 
fruits of which all worthy Americans are ashamed. 

Two Possible Attitudes on the Part of White Amer- 
icans. In the adjustments which must be made in 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES fal 


order that the white people and the colored people may 
live together peaceably and helpfully in the same coun- 
try, both races must learn certain lessons. ‘The white 
people being the dominant race are, however, the ruling 
factor in the situation. The most important matter is 
a right attitude on the part of the white man toward 
his colored neighbor. There are two general attitudes 
which are maintained by white people toward the colored 
race. There is an attitude which is friendly and helpful 
and an attitude which is indifferent or even unfriendly. 
Those white people who have the first attitude rejoice 
to see their colored neighbors climbing up to a higher 
life and a better citizenship and are glad to lend a hand. 
Those white people who have the second attitude care 
nothing for the Negro and are content so long as he 
does not get in their way. Some few of the latter class 
maintain that the Negro must be kept in his place and 
seem to think that the Negro’s place is one of servile 
dependence. 

The American Standard of Brotherhood. ‘The attitude 
of the people who wish to give the colored people a 
chance to advance to a higher and better life and who 
are willing to help them in their upward climb is in har- 
mony with the ideals on which our nation is founded. 
When our nation was just coming into existence, certain 
wise and heroic men wrote into the Declaration of In- 
dependence the immortal words which brought hope to 
oppressed peoples all around the earth: “We hold these 
truths to be self-evident that all men are created free 
and equal with certain just and inalienable rights be- 
stowed upon them by their Creator, that among these 
rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 
If we are true Americans we will wish to carry out this 
declaration securing equal privileges for all, equal oppor- 
tunitiesstor all; irrespective of ‘race, ‘color, or previous 
national allegiance. 

The Christian Standard of Brotherhood. The Chris- 
tian religion offers a sure solution for every problem 
erowing out of the contact of various races in our land. 
It can make the white man and the red man brothers 
indeed. It can show us how the Negro race can be 
given opportunity to develop in our land without any 


28 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


loss, and with much gain, to the white race. It can make 
the Pacific-coast American love his Oriental neighbor. 
Jesus rose above race prejudices and he can help his 
followers to be like him. ‘The early followers of Jesus 
had to learn the lesson that in Christ there is not and 
cannot be “Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircum- 
cision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ 
ispalleeanc ming) ae 

Peter saw the truth once in the house of Cornelius. He 
understood that God is no respecter of persons. After- 
ward he forgot what he had learned and refused to sit 
at the table with Gentile Christians. It took the rebuke 
of Paul and a renewed vision of Jesus to help Peter 
reconquer the race prejudice which had been bred in him 
from childhood. 

If the race problem is to disappear from our land, and 
its constant menace is to be removed, the Christian boys 
and girls of to-day must gain a large vision of the 
brotherhood of Christian believers in Christ, a large 
measure of the spirit of their Lord. They must “put on” 
hearts of compassion so that they will feel the pathos of 
the situation as they see their black brethren toiling up 
the steep trail that leads from slavery to Christian free- 
dom. ‘They must put on hearts of kindness like the heart 
of their great Leader. They must put on hearts of low- 
liness, meekness, and long-suffering patience. Above 
all, they must put on hearts of Christlike love. 


Have THE NEGRoES Won A PLAcE UNDER THE STARS 
AND STRIPES? 


In the awful charge upon Fort Wagner on July 18, 
1863, a Negro regiment, the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, 
gained a foothold on the ramparts and maintained it until 
they were relieved by the arrival of fresh troops. There 
the gallant white commander of the regiment, Colonel 
Robert Shaw, fell in the midst of his faithful black 
soldiers. Corporal Carney, the Negro color bearer, was 
shot through the thigh and through both shoulders, but 
he clung to his post; fallen upon the earth, he still held 
the flag erect. As they bore him from the field, he said, 
“Boys, the old flag never touched the ground.” 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES M8 


On the edge of Boston Common stands the Shaw 
Memorial, commemorating the heroism of the colored 
troops on this occasion and their equally heroic leader, 
Colonel Shaw. Near the Shaw Memorial is another 
bronze tablet containing the names of the men slain in 
the Boston Massacre, the first martyrs of the Revolution. 
One jane isithat of a Neerors@rispus Attucks... “He 
proved himself a hero in that tragic affair, having saved 
many lives by persuading the crowds to disband and 
return home. He was engaged in this kind of effort 
when the first volley from the guns of the British soldiers 
laid him low. 

Negroes took no small part in America’s battle for 
freedom; 775 fought under Washington and the total 
number enrolled in the Continental armies was 4000. 
Many Negro regiments were formed to aid the Union 
cause in the Civil War, the total number of soldiers 
enlisted having been 180,000. Negro troopers, the Tenth 
Cavalry, were at Roosevelt’s right hand in the battle 
which sealed the fate of Spanish rule in Cuba. The num- 
ber of Negroes accepted for military service in the World 
War was 342,277. Besides their contribution to the 
fighting strength of the allied armies, they did immense 
service behind the lines by loading and unloading vessels 
and in other ways strengthening the forces of the Allies. 

In view of these facts ought we not to feel that the 
Negro has earned a place under the Stars and Stripes? 
Ought we as white people to feel that this is our coun- 
try and that the colored people are here only because we 
permit them to be here? 


RACIAL COOPERATION AND THE GOALS OF GoD 


When Lieutenant Peary planted the American flag 
at the North Pole three or four other men stood by him. 
One was a Negro, Matthew Henson; the others were 
Eskimos. The little group was therefore made up of 
three races—Peary, the white Anglo-Saxon, Henson, a 
representative of the black race, and some Eskimos, 
members of the yellow race. For months these men 
had struggled over ice and snow through Arctic bliz- 
zards together. ‘They never could have reached the Pole 


30 KINGDOM TASKS *FOR,YOUNG DISCHPEES 


without the leadership of Peary, the white man. His 
was the mind which planned the expedition, his the 
knowledge which could read the stars and keep the 
course true and ever northward. Centuries of advance- 
ment by the white race were behind that representative 
sent out upon that quest of the Pole which was to be 
successful after so many fruitless attempts. 

But Peary confessed that he never could have reached 
the Pole without the help of Henson. The Negro pos- 
sessed the strength of a giant. He bore burdens for his 
leader. His iron frame seemed incapable of fatigue. 
Back of Henson was the black race of burden bearers of 
history. It was sending one of its representatives as the 
white man’s helper in an effort to reach the North Pole. 

Without the Eskimos, neither Peary nor Henson could 
have reached the Pole. They taught Peary how to dress 
for the Arctic climate. They taught him how to build 
the snow hut which was warm and dry even when the 
blizzards raged. They took care of the dogs, built the 
sleds, looked after the harness, and did a thousand things 
any one of which if neglected might have caused a failure 
of the enterprise. Back of these Eskimos were genera- 
tions of Arctic-dwelling ancestors. All that these an- 
cestors had learned-was made available because the yel- 
low race had a place in the undertaking. 

And so it is in the great plans of God. He has plans 
so vast that they can never be accomplished unless all his 
children, white, black, red, yellow, and brown, work 
together as brothers in the doing of the task. Each race 
has accumulated wisdom which is needed in the plans of 
God. Each has developed characteristics which blended 
in the cooperative whole adds strength and skill. If 
the races hate and fight one another they will suffer loss 
together and the plans of God must wait for a better day 
and a wiser generation. 

Let us see if we cannot understand how the blending 
of the races in fellowship and labor is a blessing to all 
concerned. A good many years ago missionaries reached 
the Hawaiian Islands. They found the natives fond of 
music but with only the rudest of stringed instruments 
and singing the most weird of songs. The missionaries 
taught the natives to sing Christian hymns and brought 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 31 


them musical instruments which aroused their admira- 
tion and their wonder. Now these natives in a number 
of years learned much about the white man’s music and 
the white man’s songs. They blended this knowledge 
and this new skill with that which had so long been 
theirs, and as a result we have the deeply stirring 
Hawaiian music of to-day. 

This law has a deep religious significance. God has 
revealed himself fully in the life and teachings of Jesus 
his Son. No individual and no race has ever fathomed 
the depths of that revelation. Each race seems to be 
able to see in Jesus something which other races have 
overlooked, or have been unable to discern. Thus each 
race becomes a teacher of the others. Japanese Christians 
can teach American Christians many things about the 
Christian religion, because they see it from a different 
viewpoint, because they have behind them a different 
history running back through the centuries. The world 
will be brought to the feet of Jesus and the Kingdom of 
God established only when every race has had an oppor- 
tunity to make its contribution toward the interpreta- 
tion of the personality of Jesus, only when race prejudice 
has disappeared, and white and black, red and brown and 
yellow folk, join hands in a brotherhood of believers. 


THE LESSON PRAYER 


O God, we pray thee for thy blessing on all those who 
are working among the Negroes. Teach us that they are 
our brothers. Enable us to think of them as thy chil- 
dren, for whom Christ died. May their teachers be filled 
with thy Spirit, and may those who learn from them be 
inspired to do work for thee. Amen. 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 
THE BREADTH OF CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORLINESS 
Luke 10:25-37 


There is only one unknown man in the story of the 
Good Samaritan. The Jewish priest is pictured for us 


C4 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES - 


on many pages of the New Testament, the leader of the 
Jewish race and the authority on what was supposed to 
be pleasing to God. The Levite served in the Temple, 
having high rank in the religious system of his day. No 
description is needed of robbers who waylay a defense- 
less traveler and not only take his valuables but also 
strip him and leave him half dead. The Samaritan was 
to the Jew a despised outcast with no hope of pleasing 
God. But there is one man about whom we have no in- 
formation. He is the man who was robbed. Nothing 
is said of his race, his color, his abode, his religion, 
whether he was rich or poor, a servant or a lord. He was 
a man in need, and that was enough. } 

The lawyer for whose benefit Jesus told the parable 
was willing enough to be kind to those of his own select 
circle of friends. He had himself repeated for Jesus the 
Great Commandments: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God: with. all thy -heart,; and)) with \all ‘thy ¢soulwaand 
with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy 
neighbor as thyself.” But wanting to justify himself he 
had asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” By the story 
of the Good Samaritan Jesus made it clear that the com- 
mandment of God requires that our neighborly interest 
should extend out to everyone who in any way is in need 
of our help. 

This is a good platform from which to approach the 
discussion of the Negro in America. Not only for the 
sake of our own Christian lives, not only for the sake 
of the Negro, but also for the sake of our beloved land, 
we must bring the races together as Christian neighbors. 


SomE Facts to Br DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


Have some of the stories of Negro men and women 
found in’“In the Vanguard (of | uhacemetolcm ose 
members. 

Who are some of the leading Negroes in America to- 
day? ‘Tell what they have accomplished. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Does a,Negro boy or girl have as much chance as 
a white boy or girl? 


TINGDOM  DASKS KORY OUNG DISCIPLES 33 


2. What are some of the main disadvantages under 
which most Negroes live? 

3. Where do you get most of your ideas about the 
Negro? With what Negroes do you come in contact? 
In what sort of ways do you hear about them? 

4. Why should the white race help all other races in 
their struggle upward toward a larger and better life? 

5. What would Jesus do if he lived in a community 
where different races were living side by side? 

6. Does race prejudice and injustice in America have 
any effect on the race problem throughout the world? 


BIBLE VERSES 
Jer, 38:7-13, 15-18; Acts 8 :26-40. 


Topics 


1. What the Churches of America are doing to help 
the Negro. (Secure information from the Board of Na- 
tional Missions, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York City.) 

2. Ways in which our class can help Negro Ameri- 
cans. (Appoint committee to write to above named 
Board, asking for definite suggestions as to how the class 
can help some school for colored people, or some other 
work carried on for their benefit. This committee should 
be appointed as a permanent organization to have charge 
of this type of work for the class. It should be appointed 
long enough ahead to enable the chairman to report at 
this meeting. ) 

3. The colored man as an American soldier. (See 
“Trend of the Races,” by. Haynes, Chapter IV.) 

4. The American Negroes as authors and poets. (See 
PIn’the Vanguard of a Race,”’.Chapter XI1, or some 
encyclopedia, articles on Dunbar, DuBois, Braithwaite, 
Cotter, and so on.) 

5. Look up beforehand and tell the story of one or 
two great institutions for Negroes, such as Tuskegee 
and Hampton. 

6. Tell the story of General Armstrong. 


PROJECTS 


1. What practical steps would you suggest for im- 
proving racial conditions? 


34 KINGDOM? TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


2. If there are Negroes in your community, find out 
for yourself under what conditions they live. 

3. Is there any Christian service your organization 
can render them? 

4. Have some Negroes come to the meeting to sing 
their spirituals. If you cannot get in touch with a group, 
have one of your own members sing some, or get some 
records for a victrola. 

5. Read selections from poetry written by Negroes— 
Dunbar, Cotter, Braithwaite. 

6. Have some Negro boys and girls come to the meet- 
ing to share in your discussions and to make their con- 
tribution to your thinking. 


CREAR LE RELL 


BEARING A NEW LIGHT INTO THE SOUTHERN 
MOUNTAINS 


WEEK DAY SESSION 
AS LAND OF UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES 
John 1:45, 46; 7:50-52 


The Indians and Negroes are not the only groups of 
people in our country to whom all Christians ought to 
lend a helping hand. In this chapter we are to learn 
about five and a half million white people, dwelling 
in the mountainous portions of our southern states, who 
are in desperate need of neighborliness on the part of 
their more fortunate fellow countrymen. They live in 
the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, in the Cumber- 
land Mountains of Kentucky, in the Great Smoky Range 
of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, in the 
mountains of northern Georgia and northern Alabama, 
and in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and Missouri. 

Good Things Out of Nazareth. In the very begin- 
ning of our study it is well to understand that the people 
of the southern mountains possess qualities of character 
which under the developing influences of education and 
religion promise great results. We ought not to ap- 
proach the subject feeling that here is an inferior race, 
on which we may well bestow our pity, but from which 
we ought not to expect too much. Jesus’ solemn warn- 
ing, “See that ye despise not one of these little ones,” 
has reference to backward peoples as well as to young 
children. The mistake and sin of despising those who 
have not had such great opportunities as we have had is 
a mistake we are apt to make and a sin we are apt to 
commit unless we remember that God has often drawn 
from such backward peoples some of the greatest leaders 
ofthe race. 

The proud Pharisees and learned scribes of Jerusalem 

35 


36 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


made that mistake. They despised the rough peasants 
of Galilee. They thought it absurd to mention such a 
thing as the coming of a prophet out of Galilee. As for 
Nazareth, it was a discredited town, the most despised 
city of despised Galilee in the eyes of the people of Jeru- 
salem. Their attitude toward Galilee and Nazareth 
caused them to scorn Jesus the Nazarene, and helped 
them to reject him as the Messiah and Saviour. In our 
study of the southern mountaineers we should keep con- 
stantly in mind that good things doi“fcome #out won 
Nazareth.” 

True Americans. In the lessons on the Indians, we 
studied the original inhabitants of the land which we 
now, without any hesitation, call “ours.” The Negroes 
were a group who were brought into the country with 
no desire on their own part to come,to America. In the 
southern highlands we find a people who came as a part 
of the great immigration during colonial days and who 
still preserve for us some of the early forms of speech 
used in England in Shakspere’s time. Their ancestry 
is traced back to the first days of our country’s history, 
and they may almost be called more truly American than 
most of us who find, if we trace back our family history, 
that among our four grandparents or our eight great- 
erandparents there are some who came to this country 
with the immigrants of the nineteenth century, 

A Region Where Pioneer Conditions Continued. In 
successive stages the sections of our country have passed 
through their pioneer period... The pioneer period of 
New England began with the landing of the Pilgrims, 
that of Virginia with the settlement of Jamestown. The 
pioneer period of the Mississippi Valley began with the 
early explorers and the early settlers who came floating 
in flatboats down the Ohio River and traveling by ox- 
carts along the Great Lakes. 

The pioneer period of each section was a time of log 
cabins in the forest or of rude “dugouts” on the prairie. 
It was a time of hardships, often a time of heroism, a 
time of the primitive one-room school held for two or 
three months in the winter. The pioneers depended 
much on hunting, trapping, and fishing while they were 
subduing the wilderness and bringing it under the plow. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES ai 


In most sections, the pioneer period did not last more 
than a score of years or so. Railroads came; towns 
sprang up; manufacturing industries developed; the 
pioneers became prosperous citizens of a populous and 
prosperous land. The forests disappeared; wide fields 
took their places; the log schoolhouse gave place to a 
modern building and the two months of school became 
a nine or ten months’ term. The church spire above the 
tree tops bore witness to the place of the Christian re- 
ligion in the community. 

There are certain sections of our country where pio- 
neer conditions did not pass away so rapidly, but have 
continued down to the present time. The pioneers 
pushed up into the mountains of the South, but in these 
regions there was no such transformation as we have 
noted in the preceding paragraphs. The log cabin did 
not give place to the spacious and comfortable farmhouse 
in these mountains. The one-room log schoolhouse with 
its brief term did not give place to a better program ora 
longer school term. The people still lived by cultivating 
little clearings in the forest and by hunting and fishing. 
To-day there are still places in the mountains where these 
pioneer conditions exist. In others, we are finding 
churches, better schools, and a gradual development of 
better methods of agriculture. This advance, in places 
which the main currents of progress had passed by, has 
been stimulated largely by our mission centers, which 
are striving to “help the community to help itself.” 

Why the Current of Progress Passed by the Southern 
Mountains. The southern mountains are rich in min- 
erals and in forests; why, then, have they been passed 
by in the stream of development which has spread from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific? There are several reasons. 
For one thing, minerals and forests have been more 
accessible in other portions of the country. Another 
explanation lies in the fact that the invention of the cot- 
ton gin made the more cultivatable portions of the south- 
ern states a cotton-growing, slaveholding section. The 
manufacturies which might have used the mountain 
products did not appear. They are just beginning to 
appear in the southern states to-day. Another explana- 
tion lies in the fact that the great railroad systems 


38 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


avoided the rugged southern mountains, finding easier 
passages to the great central valleys farther north. It 
thus happened that the pioneers of the mountainous sec- 
tions of the South have continued to live much as their 
ancestors did when they first came into the moun- 
tains to plant their homes in the wilderness. How long 
they may continue to do so is a question. Already the 
opening up of the mines in some sections has brought 
industrial development which may gradually claim most 
of the region. 

Arrested Development and Spiritual Decay. ‘There 
were some fine things about the pioneer days. They 
developed a strong, self-reliant type of manhood and 
womanhood. But there were likewise certain limitations 
of those times which, when long-continued, inevitably 
left their mark on the people. A few years of pioneer 
life seem to have been highly beneficial, but when that 
kind of existence is continued generation after genera- 
tion, humanity suffers. The mountaineers could not 
maintain their schools for a long enough period each 
year to keep their people from gradually sinking into 
ignorance and illiteracy. The stimulating hardships and 
hopeful poverty of the first settlers gradually gave way 
to a kind of hopeless poverty. The mountain people 
began to lose ambition. Their churches suffered. Their 
ministers were often ignorant men, quite unfit to lead 
the people in spiritual matters. Many of the mountain- 
eers took to illegal distilling of liquor, and “moonshine 
whisky” wrought swift and deadly destruction among 
them. A spirit of lawlessness appeared in some sections 
and there were family quarrels, growing into family wars 
in which dreadful deeds were committed. 

The Purest Anglo-Saxon Stock on the Continent. 
Many of the southern mountaineers are of Scotch and 
Scotch-Irish descent. Very few foreigners of Teutonic 
or Latin blood have come among them. They are, as a 
consequence, more truly Anglo-Saxon than are the people 
of any other section of the country. They belong to a 
race which has been foremost in the world’s progress for 
a thousand years. ‘That they have fallen behind in the 
onward march of civilization is not their fault. If they 
can be given a chance, they will take their place as leaders 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES a) 


in the world’s progress. Perhaps in the providence of 
God they have “come to the kingdom for such a time as 
this,” for their seclusion in the mountains has shielded 
them from some influences which have not been unmixed 
blessings to their brothers in more favored regions. 

A People of Great Possibilities. Our mountain people 
need work done in a spirit of neighborliness, not of con- 
descending charity. As we see the rapid advance where 
sympathetic friends have come among them, we know 
that anything we do to help, in that spirit, will be eagerly 
welcomed. One community into which a missionary 
went six years ago now has a number of neat, attractive 
cottages, the homes of those who have given ready co- 
operation in the work and have taken advantage of the 
new methods taught. <A six-room house of ‘beautiful 
sandstone, built by one of the families as a welcome for 
a daughter who was returning from a mission school to 
teach in her own community, shows the double influence 
of the distant school and the worker in the midst of the 
people. 

A recent visitor, who rode four miles over the moun- 
tain and an equal distance along the creek, fording the 
stream at frequent intervals, could not believe that the 
trail which the horse took was a road which was actually 
traveled by teams and loaded wagons. Yet that trail 
across the mountain was the one over which all supplies 
had to be hauled. The perseverance and patience of 
those people who had overcome one of the greatest dif- 
ficulties of their isolation was something to be wondered 
at and admired. 

When we see such examples of rapid progress, we 
know that it is due partly to the help which has been 
given by workers from the outside, but that more credit 
goes to these people who are on the alert to use every 
opportunity. The boys and girls in our mission schools 
put to shame many of us who have everything done to 
give us a chance, while we grumble about having too 
much to do. 

The people of our southern highlands are waiting to 
make their full contribution to the life of our country. 
Some individuals who have been given a chance have 
brought valuable lives to the service of their nation 


40 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


and their God. They have shown us what they can do. 
There are other thousands waiting for their chance. 
Their physical heritage is excellent. Their pioneer life 
has preserved qualities needed by society. ‘They are 
part of the great brotherhood of man. Shall we leave 
them without opportunities? 


Tue LirtiE BisHop oF THE LAUREI, COUNTRY 


Up near the heights of the Great Smoky Range, in 
western North Carolina, is a rugged section which has 
long been called the “Laurel Country.” There are no 
railroads near the section and few wagon roads worthy 
of the name. The Laurel Country a few years ago was 
one of the most backward sections in all the mountains 
of the South. There were no newspapers, telephones, or 
comfortable homes. The people lived in little, tumble- 
down log cabins along the creeks. They raised a little 
corn on the rocky hillsides, but depended much on hunt- 
ing to eke out an existence. There was no physician in 
all the region and the nearest hospital was fifty-two miles 
away. Schools of any kind were few, and the teachers 
were not paid more than fifty dollars a year—sometimes 
much less. Some of the teachers could not teach writing 
because they themselves could not write. 

Into this region came Frances L. Goodrich, to see what 
she could do for the mountain folk and for God’s King- 
dom in that part of the earth. She was a young woman, 
not much more than a girl, the daughter of a Presby- 
terian minister, a trained nurse, a graduate of college 
and of an art school. She had traveled extensively in 
Europe and America. She came to the mountain folk in 
a spirit of Christian service, to give them her best and her 
all for the Master’s sake. 

Miss Goodrich took one community at a time and she 
began by trying to secure better schools for the children. 
Under her encouragement the men would get together 
to repair the schoolhouse or to put up a new building. 
She encouraged them to build a cabin for the teacher. 
She went into the schools and helped the teachers in the 
work of instruction. She generally stayed in a district 
until she had made substantial gains. Usually she 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 41 


brought the school term up to eight months before she 
moved on. 

The older people were not neglected. Miss Goodrich 
taught the women how to make quilts, rugs, baskets, and 
other household necessities. She found a market for 
these goods, and soon there was some money coming 
into homes where ready cash had long been a stranger. 
In one year over twelve thousand dollars’ worth of these 
goods was sold under the direction of Miss Goodrich. 
Miss Goodrich by this time had fully won the hearts of 
the mountain people and they had begun to call her “the 
little bishop of Laurel.” 

One day Miss Goodrich entered a home where a little 
baby lay desperately ill. She saw at once that the case 
was beyond her skill, but that the baby would probably 
recover if a physician could be secured for it. There was 
no physician to be had and the baby died. Miss Goodrich 
thereupon resolved to bring a physician to the Laurel 
Country. She appealed to friends in New York City, 
telling them the story of the, child who might have lived 
if a physician had been within reach. One day that story 
reached the ears of Dr. George H. Packard in Medford, 
Massachusetts. He was a prosperous physician with a 
private hospital of his own. His own little baby, an only 
child, had just died and the story of the baby in the 
Laurel Country touched his heart. Not long afterward 
he and his devoted wife established their home there. 

When Dr. and Mrs. Packard first came into the moun- 
tains, the children took to the bushes at sight of them. 
Older people held themselves coldly aloof. Some of 
them maneuvered adroitly trying to catch the doctor in 
a lie. But little by little the doctor and his wife won the 
confidence of the mountaineers. The people began to say 
of them that they were “common.” ‘They meant by this 
that the doctor and his good wife were not proud and 
aristocratic but people like themselves, that they were 
democratic in spirit. 

For a good many years Dr. Packard has been a bless- 
ing to a wide section of mountain country. The people 
have come to love him and to trust him with absolute 
confidence. He has built a splendid hospital to which 
the sick are brought from far and near. His godly life 


42 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


has lifted the lives of the mountain people to a higher 
plane. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


wOIndy se@nance™ 
* Hirsthand ast, * 
“For the Sake of Learning.” 
“Rainbow Series’—Mountaineers. 
“Children of the Southern Highlands.” 

OF re hactsy Pvervumresbyteriatl Should Know About 
Mountain Work.” 

7. Lantern slides: “Among the Southern Mountains,” 
Robert S. Wightman (81 slides) ; “The Alpine Com- 
munity School,” Margaret M. Abbe (23%slidess 


ark Na 


SUNDAY SESSION 
SONS OF THE MOUNTAINS 
Luke 1:80; 3:1-17 


To anyone attempting to get into the heart of the 
southern mountains, it soon becomes apparent that the 
isolation has not been exaggerated. A traveler to one of 
the community stations found her way blocked because 
the heavy rains had made the waters of the creek so high 
that it was too dangerous to attempt the ford. The only 
means of reaching her destination was to go by foot 
over mountain trails difficult for anyone not brought up 
in the region to follow. Most of us would think such 
isolation a misfortune for which there could be no com- 
pensation; but a person who becomes well acquainted 
with the people of the southern highlands realizes that 
they have preserved certain ideals which are often lost 
in the development of civilization and the acquiring of 
material prosperity. With the majesty of the mountains 
and the many beauties of nature constantly about them, 
they seem to have a consciousness of God’s presence and 
a firm faith in his existence. In some places their religion 
has become mixed with superstition, and violent emo- 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 43 


tional frenzies are associated with their worship of God; 
but the fundamental faith in him is there. 

We find, too, that the mountaineers are a democratic 
people. They look at the heart of a man, and no assump- 
tion of superiority on the part of those who have had 
greater opportunities for education, is tolerated. They 
are quick to appreciate kindness and just as quick to 
resent any patronizing spirit in those who come among 
them. Their simple dignity and assurance command 
respect, and those who have been privileged to know 
them as personal friends value their warm-hearted loy- 
alty. With characteristics such as these for a founda- 
tion, those who are given opportunities quickly become 
respected leaders, not only in the service of their own 
people, but also in positions beyond the mountains. 

Wilderness-Reared Leaders of the Race. Because the 
mountains and the wilderness are largely free from the 
detrimental, artificial and superficial influences which 
cities throw about young people, the wilderness places, 
and not the cities, have been the regions from which 
most great leaders of humanity have come. Moses 
herded sheep for forty years in the desert of Sinai. Paul 
spent three years in Arabia. John the Baptist was in 
the wilderness until the day of his mission to Israel. 
Jesus was a man of the out of doors. He spent much time 
alone by the sea and in the mountains. Elijah was a 
mountaineer of Gilead. Amos herded cattle on the edge 
of the wilderness. David spent his boyhood in the open 
country. Peter and Andrew, James and John, were 
fishermen who had known the Sea of Galilee in storm and 
in calm from the days of their infancy. Lincoln was 
born in a wretched log cabin’ in the pioneer days of 
Kentucky. Garfield was born in the log cabin of an Ohio 
frontiersman. Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor, Theo- 
dore Roosevelt, and half a dozen more of our Presidents 
owed many of their most admirable qualities to the fact 
that they had lived in contact with pioneer conditions. 
In the mountains of the South are conditions which make 
for great leaders, together with other conditions which 
hinder the development of leadership. It is the task of 
America to remove the hindering conditions. To a very 
great extent it is a task of the American Church. 


44 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


Great Men Have Come Out of the Southern Mountains. 
In spite of the many hindrances, many great men have 
come out of the southern mountains. Here and there ail 
over our country you will find lawyers, physicians, and 
ministers who spent their childhood far back among the 
mountains of our southern states. The pastor of one of 
the large churches in a great American city was a south- 
ern mountain boy.. He had no opportunity even to learn 
to read until he was a grown man. He made strenuous 
efforts to make up for lost time when an opportunity to 
attend: school at last presented itself. In college he 
pushed ahead and at the clase of his course was leading 
his class. He is now a college president. 

A New Day Dawning for the Southern Mountaineers. 
It is evident that a new day is dawning for the people of 
the southern mountains. The southern states are making 
rapid progress in manufacturing, and the minerals and 
forests of the mountains will soon be needed. Better 
roads are being constructed. The abundant water power 
of some sections is being utilized for manufacturing pur- 
poses. Under leaders such as Miss Goodrich and Dr. 
Packard, communities are awakening to a new life. A 
better school system is being organized in many places. 
Well-trained ministers are seeing in the mountain field 
an opportunity for service and are carrying to these 
long-neglected people a more enlightened kind of re- 
ligion than they have known for many a year, the religion 
of Christlike character and Christlike service. 

A Kingdom Task Which the Boys and Girls of To- 
Day Can Complete If They Will. The task of bringing 
tc the southern mountaineers the blessings of modern 
education, modern industry, and a higher type of re- 
ligion than they have known, is well begun. ‘There is 
much to do yet, however. ‘These people are five and a 
half millions strong and they are scattered over portions 
of nine states. The present generation of Christian 
workers will, in all probability, not see the completion 
of the task, but the Intermediate boys and girls of our 
church schools ought to see the completion of the task. 
They ought to complete it, bringing the mountain people 
of the South up to present-day educational standards and 
present-day industrial standards, and to a higher religious 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 45 


life than either they or any other peoples have yet known. 
We of the passing generation must confess that we have 
neglected this task. We have been so much engaged in 
our pursuit of material wealth that we have forgotten 
that we are our brothers’ keepers. We are gaining a 
vision of what we owe to these neglected brothers of the 
Southland, but the vision has come too late for us to 
complete the task. May the next generation see the task 
early, undertake it enthusiastically, and accomplish it 
victoriously for the glory of God and the Kingdom of 
Christ. 


Tur Greatest HrEro oF THE WorLD War 


“Corporal Pike, conduct these prisoners to the rear and 
then report back here immediately.” This command rang 
out from the lips of an American colonel in one of the 
nost desperate battles of the World War. With a band 
of German prisoners, a dozen or so, Corporal Pike started 
[opmiecereare wlinso Nappened thatvarlittiewlater theytide 
of battle changed and the corporal found himself alone 
with his band of prisoners with a company of German 
soldiers coming swiftly down the hill toward him. It 
was one man against a hundred and the one man, more- 
over, was handicapped by having a dozen prisoners on 
his hands, but the corporal did not hesitate. Flat upon 
the ground he fell and his German prisoners did likewise 
as the oncoming company of German soldiers opened 
fire. Between the combatants was a strip of rough, shell- 
torn ground across which the Germans hesitated to rush, 
so they, too, sought safety on the ground, sheltering 
themselves by stump, or rock, or little elevation of earth. 
And so they fought, the one side against the other, the 
hundred against the lone corporal. ‘The Germans soon 
found that they were suffering severely. Every shot 
which came in answer to their own seemed to find a mark. 
The corporal was no ordinary marksman. 

The German officer in charge selected seven men, 
placing himself at the head of the band, which leaped 
up and charged across the shell holes determined to reach 
and destroy the lone corporal. One by one they fell until 
the last went down. Some of the German soldiers 
attempted to escape by running back up the hill, but 


46 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


they, too, went down. Then a stick with a bit of white 
cloth fluttering at its top was raised above the German 
position. The Germans had surrendered. ‘They laid 
down their arms and came over to the corporal, nearly 
a hundred of them, and he conducted them all to the 
rear where he turned them over to the troops in charge 
of the prisoners. A little later Corporal Pike stood once 
more before the colonel of his regiment, and, saluting 
him, said modestly, “The prisoners are delivered to the 
euard ising 

Because of this exploit Corporal Pike has been called 
“the greatest hero of the World War.” War is a terrible 
thing and we will not introduce many battle scenes in 
these lessons. We have done so here for a purpose. Cor- 
poral Pike was a boy from the southern mountains. He 
had handled a rifle from the days of his infancy. He 
was a Christian lad, an elder in a peculiar little denomi- 
nation found hardly anywhere else than in the mountains 
of the southern states. When the World War began he 
was a “conscientious objector.” He could not see how 
it could be right for a Christian to go to war. When 
America! entered the conflict, "hempondered@themmactes 
long and prayerfully, seeking light from God. At last 
he decided that it was God’s will that he should join 
the American forces. From that moment he threw him- 
self into the conflict with every ounce of his strength. 

After Corporal Pike returned to America, he went back 
to his mountain home. The old place where he was 
born had a mortgage on it and the holders of the mort- 
gage were about to foreclose... Young Pike had saved a 
little money from his meager pay as a soldier, but it 
was not enough to pay off the mortgage. One day a 
well-dressed man called at the Pike farm. He talked 
with the ex-service man. He wished Corporal Pike to 
become a member of a theatrical company. Being a 
shrewd business man he knew that the presence of the 
war hero in the company would mean enormous income 
for the enterprise. As a consequence the theater man 
was urgent. He offered a wage which simply amazed 
the mountain lad. One week’s pay would be more than 
sufficient to pay the mortgage on the farm. 

In Corporal Pike’s denomination, however, theaters 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 47 


were looked upon as an abomination. The ex-soldier 
himself had that opinion of them. With a calm and 
steady gaze he looked straight into the eyes of the 
theater man and said, “Theaters have no place in my 
religion, and | would not give up my religion for all 
the money in the world.” 


Tur LESSON PRAYER 


Our Father, we thank thee for the heroic life of Jesus 
thy Son and for the lives of our fellow men which have 
been made noble through fellowship with Jesus. Teach 
us to be truly courageous, that we may honor thee and 
serve thee all our days without fear or compromise. We 
ask in our Saviour’s name. Amen. 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 
irer Ri ORT ATCON TEMP TUOUS CSEIRIGT 
Matt. 18:10-14; 20:20-28 


Jesus solemnly warned his disciples concerning a con- 
temptuous attitude toward any person. Concerning chil- 
aren and the childlike he said, “See that ye despise not 
enemolminese slittlemones.. » Ae contemptuous attitude 
toward any human being was one of the most horrible 
things in the world to Jesus. He said that whosoever 
said to his brother, “Thou fool,” should be in danger of 
the hell of fire. Have you ever considered why Jesus 
felt as he did about a contemptuous spirit? It was be- 
cause he knew how precious in the sight of God every 
human being is. He said that children are so precious 
that their guardian angels stand always in the presence 
of God. He said that even publicans and sinners are so 
precious that when one of them repents there is joy 
i@ the presence of the angels. 

The spirit of contempt was everywhere in the days 
when Jesus lived on earth. The Pharisees had a con- 


48 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


tempt for the publicans and for all Jews who did not 
know as much about the law as the Pharisees did. The 
people of Jerusalem felt contempt for the rude high- 
landers of Galilee. The Jews despised the Gentiles and 
looked upon them with contempt. The Gentiles thought 
the Jews were the most contemptible people on earth. 

We have been studying about the American Indians, 
the Negroes, and the southern mountaineers. If these 
lessons have made it impossible for us to feel contempt 
for these members of God’s family, who in some ways are 
less fortunate than we, the lessons have accomplished 
much, 


SoME Facts to BE DiIscussED IN THE MEETING 


Contempt of court is a serious offense. It consists in 
saying or doing something which manifests a con- 
temptuous spirit toward the courts which a nation has 
established for the maintenance of justice and order. 

In countries ruled by emperors and kings we are apt 
to hear ‘of a*crime called jlese\majesty.2* Phis crmmesis 
nothing but the manifestation of a contemptuous spirit 
toward a ruler. 

A contemptuous attitude toward our fellow men often 
leads to a contemptuous attitude toward God. Cain’s 
reply to God’s inquiry concerning Abel was a con- 
temptuous “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 

It is possible to feel contempt for an evil deed with- 
out having a contemptuous spirit toward the evildoer. 
Peter’s denial of Jesus was a contemptible act, but Jesus 
didvnot) teelicontemptiior Peter 

Many terms of contempt have been invented in America 
for the Negroes and for the Chinese, and other foreigners. 
No Christian should ever use these nicknames, They are 
born of a contemptuous spirit. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Name some charaeteristics of the southern moun- 
taineers which you admire. 

2. Why have pioneer conditions continued in the 
southern mountains? ) 

3. What do you understand by the term “arrested 
development”? 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 49 


4. What is being done to help the southern moun- 
taineers? 

5. Why have so many of the great leaders of humanity 
come from the country rather than from the city? 

6. Why was Jesus so displeased with those who had 
a contempt for their fellow men? 


BisLE VERSES 


owe lA Ore eenaiige DU we Se OIG erOVarboeo. 
Poel zek, 72 7o miu ke Ue 167) 1671-73. Romi2 4 


‘Topics 


1. Contemptuous worship. Mal. 1:6-14. 

2. Contempt for the poor condemned. James 2:1-13. 

3. Contempt for opponents a characteristic of rude 
and wicked persons. Jude 8-13. 

4. Contempt for an opponent a dangerous thing in 
serious warfare. (See story of David and Goliath and 
note Goliath’s contempt for the Hebrew youth.) 

5. How a contemptuous spirit marred the family life 
of a king. II Sam. 6:16-23. 

6. Contemptuous nicknames for foreigners and why 
we should never use them. 

7. What our class can do for the southern moun- 
taineers. | 

PRoyEcts 


Write to the Board of National Missions for sugges 
tions as to work which the class may do for some school, 
hospital, or community, in the southern mountains. 
Appoint a committee to formulate these projects and 
to carry them on during the year. 


CET Hea aN 


HEUPING- OUR SPANISH SPE AIGEUNG 
NEIGHBORS 


WEEK DAY SESSION 
CUBA, PORTO? RICO, ANDISAN TO DOMINGS 


ACTS Oot 


In the southwestern part of the United States, New 
Mexico, Arizona, Southern California, and Texas, we 
find a people descended from the Spaniards who took 
possession of the section in the sixteenth century. They 
are a part of our people, not from choice, but because 
at the close of the Mexican War in the middle of the 
last century, we obtained the territory in which they 
were living by cession from Mexico. We like to think 
that our own nation has always been entirely justified 
in all its wars and has not been guilty of seizing terri- 
tory from other nations. Some people believe that a 
careful study of the whole dispute will not leave the 
United States free from blame.) In” any Taseueuge ma 
habitants of that part of the country which came under 
our control were not free to decide their own fate. 

The islands of Cuba, Porto Rico, and Santo Domingo, 
off the southeast coast, are included among our Spanish- 
speaking neighbors. It is interesting to discover the 
exact relationship of our country to each of them—vary- 
ing from the ownership of Porto Rico to a kind of self- 
assumed protectorate in Santo Domingo. Whatever our 
political relationship to these people may be, there is 
no question that from Jesus Christ’s point of view they 
are our neighbors. 

Many believe that because these people are dominated 
by the Roman Catholic Church, we should make no effort 
to reach them. Asa matter of fact the Catholicism which 

50 





KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES am 


they know is very different from that with which we are 
familiar. Long centuries of almost complete domina- 
tion have resulted in a decadence of their Church. The 
people are largely ignorant and illiterate. ‘Their lack of 
education makes it possible for the most amazing super- 
stitions to hold their minds. Threats of purgatory and 
excommunication keep their allegiance for a Church 
which fails to bring them into vital touch with the trans- 
forming power of Christ. It=has been well: said )that 
they are “a people of many crosses but no Christ.” 

Cuba. When Columbus landed in Cuba he was fas- 
cinated by its beauty and said, “This is the most beau- 
tiful land eyes ever beheld; one could live here forever.” 
Cuba was under the control of Spain and endured the 
tyranny of the Spanish conquerors, until finally in the 
eighteenth century the people were roused to revolt. 
Spain repeatedly promised that certain conditions should 
be remedied but failed to keep her promise. Finally, the 
people rebelled, fought the Spanish troops, and were 
saved only by the intervention of the United States in 
1898. Cuba was declared free and the United States be- 
came a true neighbor to the island, using her power to 
aid the inhabitants in establishing a strong government. 

The United States found that the people of Cuba lacked 
leadership. The politicians were wanting a republican 
form of government but failed to understand the founda- 
tions of justice and equality upon which it must be built. 
The politicians were all struggling for the highest office, 
hence the need of the United States as a protector and 
helper. The situation was complicated because of the 
ignorance of the people. Without an educated citizen- 
ship it is impossible for a real democracy to exist. The 
Protestant Church has been of great service in educating 
the people of Cuba. 

An Open Door to a World Wide Service. When God 
opened up Cuba and Porto Rico to American Christianity, 
he opened a door into a world-wide service. For cen- 
turies Spanish-speaking peoples all over the world have 
been hard to reach with a full gospel message. Cuba is 
an open door to the Spanish-speaking, Spanish-thinking 
world. As we shall see in the next paragraph, evangelical 
Christianity has made only a little beginning in Cuba, 


ays KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


but even that little has been bearing fruit in distant lands. 
Last year a little band of evangelical Christians in Spain 
were looking about for help. They needed leaders who 
could speak their language, but there was no possibility 
for training such leaders in Spain. These Spanish Protes- 
tants heard that evangelical Christianity had been intro- 
duced into Cuba and that it was making progress there. 
They sent a message across the Atlantic Ocean to their 
brothers in Cuba “Come over into Spain and help us.” 
Vhe Cuban churches were weak in numbers and poor 
in financial resources, but they heeded the call. The 
Cuban Protestants made heroic sacrifices in order to send 
workers and material assistance to their brothers in 
pains 

A Small But Significant Beginning. The Roman Cath- 
olic Church is the dominant Church in Cuba. During 
four hundred years the Roman Church uncompromisingly 
excluded every other type of Christianity from the island. 
The doors are now open, but we ought not to think of 
ourselves as entering Cuba to wage battle against the 
Catholic Church. We enter to serve our fellow men 
and to bring them the gospel of Jesus in a fuller measure 
than they have had an opportunity to find it. 

Evangelical Christianity has made a small but sig- 
nificant beginning in the island of Cuba. Its schools 
have trained native preachers and other Christian workers. 
Some fifteen thousand people have joined the evangelical 
Churches and twenty-five thousand Cuban children are 
enrolled in Protestant Sunday schools. The influence of 
the movement cannot be measured by these figures, how- 
ever. Christian literature of an evangelical type is being 
widely read. The old barriers of prejudice are crumbling 
and a new light is beginning to break over the Gem of 
the Antilles. 

Porto Rico and Its Newly Made Americans. As a re- 
sult of the Spanish-American War, Porto Rico became a 
possession of the United States. Like Cuba, Porto Rico 
has been for many centuries under the rule of despotic 
governors and equally despotic Church officials. Soon 
after Porto Rico came under the American flag, Prot- 
estant denominations opened mission stations there. 
Churches have been organized, hospitals have been built, 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES ap, 


schools have been conducted. Missionaries of the gospel 
have gone over all the island, and the common people 
have heard them gladly. 

It was the downtrodden, poverty-stricken multitude of 
these common people who shouted a welcome to the 
Stars and Stripes in 1898, when our soldiers planted it 
on Porto Rican soil. They saw in the flag a new hope, 
the light of a new day of justice and opportunity for all. 
We Americans must not disappoint them. We must see 
tu it that liberty for all and equal justice are established 
in the island: We must not neglect to send them that 
message concerning Him who can make them free, indeed. 

An American System of Public Schools. One of the 
first undertakings of the American Government on taking 
possession of Porto Rico was the establishment of a 
public-school system. At that time eighty-three per cent 
of the people in the island could neither read nor write. 
To-day 175,000 children are enrolled in school, and illit- 
eracy among the young has practically disappeared. ‘The 
Churches of America have had a large share in the edu- 
cational task, for they have maintained many day schools 
and normal schools for the training of teachers. 

Health and Sanitary Conditions. The overcrowding 
of the people and the lack of sanitation made it neces- 
sary for the United States to start definite plans for 1m- 
provements in water systems and drainage. Dr. Bailey 
K. Ashford, an army physician, found the laziness and 
incompetence by which the Porto Rican was stigmatized, 
due to unsanitary conditions and to the hookworm which 
entered the body by means of the foot. ‘The custom of 
going about barefoot contributed to the prevalence of 
this disease. With the discovery of a remedy, we find a 
promise of a sturdy race in another generation. 

The large amount of distressing illness, due in a great 
measure to the dire poverty of the people, led to the 
opening of dispensaries and hospitals. The Presbyterian 
Hospital at Santurce, a suburb of San Juan, has proved 
s benediction to the sick poor. The training class of 
native nurses, graduating as Christian young women, is 
a power in evangelizing the island. 

A Demonstration of What May Be Accomplished in 
Latin America. An American traveler returning from a 


54 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


tour through the countries of South America said, “Of 
one thing I am sure; it will be a long, long time before 
the Latin nations of America will adopt prohibition.” He 
had seen the drunkenness of Mexico, Chile, Argentina, 
and of other Spanish-speaking lands. It is by no means 
certain that his conclusion was sound. In 1918 the Porto 
Ricans voted on the prohibition question. ‘They passed 
a law prohibiting the manufacture and sale of liquor, and 
they passed it by a two-to-one majority. A few years ago 
the Porto Ricans were just as fond of liquor as other 
I,atin Americans. 

The Porto Ricans have responded heartily to the mes- 
sage of an evangelical gospel, and they have demonstrated 
what may be done in other Spanish-speaking lands, if 
the opportunities before the Christian Church are seized 
and the task undertaken with a will. 

The Missionary Zeal of the Porto Rican Christians. 
‘\ desire to see others brought into the Christian fellow- 
ship is one of the surest evidences of a Christian life. 
The Porto Rican Christians were only a handful when 
they heard of the spiritual need of their brethren on the 
neighboring island of Santo Domingo, and resolved to 
send them aid. No evangelical mission work had ever 
been done in Santo Domingo until the Porto Rican Chris- 
tians came to the island, preaching Christ. 


Santo DomMINGO, ONE oF THE NEw MISSION FIELDS 
OF THE WorLD 


The island of Santo Domingo is one of the most beau- 
tiful, most healthful, and likewise one of the most richly 
endowed islands in the world, but for a hundred years 
it has been sadly misgoverned. ‘Two states divide the 
island, Santo Domingo occupying the eastern two thirds 
and Hayti the western third. In both republics the 
Negroes are numerous, but in Hayti they so far out- 
number the whites that Hayti is often called, “The Black 
Republic.” In many parts of the island the Negroes have 
fallen into a paganism like that of their ancestors in 
Africa. Into this virgin field, the newly converted Porto 
Rican Christians launched out in an enterprise for the 
world-wide Kingdom of Christ. 


MANGDOMPTASKoFEOR YOUNG DISCIBLES 55 


An Interdenominational Mission Project. Certain 
American denominations have now come to the aid of the 
Porto Rican Christians in the Santo Domingo mission 
field. These denominations decided to throw their forces 
together, so they organized an interdenominational enter- 
prise in which the Methodists, Presbyterians, and United 
Brethren cooperate. This arrangement is said to have 
met with the hearty approval of the Porto Rican Chris- 
tians who began the work. 

Only Just Begun. The work in Santo Domingo began 
less than three years ago, but it is already bearing fruit. 
Everywhere the mission work is growing faster than it 
can be taken care of. There is great need for hospital 
buildings, schools, and neighborhood houses. Enough 
has been done to show that this beautiful island, which 
during the past hundred years has been a scene of so 
much lawlessness and violence, may be won for Christian 
civilization in a generation. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “Old Spain in New America,” Williams. 

Pee liuemUniversity, of the Antilles Board ofeNa- 
tional Missions (leaflet). 

3. “Facts Every Presbyterian Should Know About 
Porto Rico,’ Board of National Missions (leaflet). 

4. “Facts Every Presbyterian Should Know About 
Cuba,” Board of National Missions (leaflet). 

Dae Called toe Ntitse,.,Gorzaless. Board of National 
Missions (leaflet). 

6. “‘Ghildren of Cuba and Porto Rico;’ Board of Na- 
tional Missions (leaflet). 

7. “Triangle at Mayaguez,” Board of National Mis- 
sions (leaflet). 

Selwentyy cars inweortorhkico, «james. — Boards of 
National Missions (paper-bound). 

9. “Santo Domingo, Our Neglected Neighbor,’ Board 
of Christian Work in Santo Domingo, 25 Madison Ave- 
nuemiNew work City: 

10. “Rainbow Series,” Board of National Missions. 

11. “America’s Debt to the West Indies,” Inman. 

12. “What Poverty Means in Porto Rico,’ Board of 
National Missions, 


56 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


13. “Presbyterian Hospital, San Juan, P. R.,” Board of 
National Missions. 

14. “Home Life in a New Mexican Village,’ Blake. 

15. Lantern Slides: - ‘Cuba®and) Porto @Rico; sama 
Robert S. Wightman (94 slides). ‘The Pearl of the 
Antilles,’ Edward A= Odell. 


SUNDAY SESSION 
MEXICAN STRANGERS WITHIN OUR GATES 
x23 Oe evil 9-33 .ehlebael oe 


The high ideals of Old Testament religion are shown 
by the frequent commandments requiring the Hebrews 
to show kindness to the stranger and the sojourner. 
Solemn warnings are given concerning the oppression 
of strangers within the land of Israel. God sought to 
instill into the chosen people a spirit of kindly hos- 
pitality. Only thus could the descendants of Abraham 
be used of God to fulfill his promise that in the seed 
of Abraham should “all the nations of the earth be 
blessed.” This admonition to neighborliness is repeated 
in the New Testament. The spirit of universal brother- 
hood in Christ is a fulfillment of the plans of God, the 
realization of ideals which he held up before his people 
in Old Testament times. 

In our last lesson we studied about certain Spanish- 
speaking peoples who, for the most part, live in nations 
which are neighbors of ours. We have, however, dwell- 
ing in our own land, other Spanish-speaking people, many 
of whom are native-born citizens of the United States. 
In this lesson we are to learn about these native Mex- 
icans of America, and about other Mexicans who have 
come to our country in recent times and have become 
sojourners among us. 

American Citizens of Mexican Descent. As a result 
of the Mexican War a large territory which had been 
under the control of Mexico came under the control of 
the United States. Out of this territory have been carved 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 3/ 


Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, as well as por- 
tions of several other states. When this territory became 
a part of the United States, its inhabitants became citizens 
of our country. Much of the region was thinly popu- 
lated, but there were some large settlements. 

The Descendants of Heroic Pioneers. In thinking of 
these American Mexicans it is well for us to remember 
that they are the descendants of pioneers as heroic as 
those whose “impassioned stress” beat a thoroughfare for 
freedom through our own wilderness. The Spanish set- 
tlers of our Southwest planted their homes in the midst 
of dangers and hardships equal to the dangers and hard- 
ships which surrounded our own pioneer ancestors in 
regions farther north. 

We have long been neglectful of these Mexican so- 
journers who came under our flag as a result of the 
Mexican War, but of late the Christian forces of America 
have been paying more attention to them. Missions have 
been organized, and neighborhood houses built. In the 
latter, American Christians come in contact with their 
Mexican fellow citizens and through neighborly service 
led them to a larger and better way of life than they have 
ever known. 

Pastors of Mexican descent are being trained for the 
Mexican churches. Daily Vacation Bible Schools are 
being organized for the Mexican children. One such 
school in El Paso, Texas, last summer enrolled four hun- 
dred children. A Mexican congregation in Los Angeles, 
California, is building a church to cost forty-six thou- 
sand dollars. The women of the Presbyterian denomina- 
tion have built up a fine school for Mexican boys and 
young men at Albuquerque, New Mexico, known as the 
Menaul School. 

A Tide of Mexican Immigration. The World War 
brought a tide of Mexican immigrants into the United 
States. These newcomers were of a different type from 
the older Mexican population, which had been in our 
country since the close of the Mexican War. They were 
not farmers or stock raisers but railroad laborers and 
other unskilled workmen. They found employment in 
packing houses, in the sugar-beet fields and sugar mills, 
and similar kinds of employment. Many of them were 


58 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


of necessity migrant workmen, employed in one section 
of the country for a part of the year, then migrating to 
some more or less distant part of the country to take 
up some other task as soon as their work in any par- 
ticular place was completed. 

It will be seen that this new tide of Mexican immi- 
grants would be especially hard to reach with missionary 
work. Yet much is being done for them. In some cases 
the Christian churches of our land provided pastors for 
these migrant Mexicans, pastors of their own race who 
understand their needs and who go with them from 
place to place as they move about to find employment. 

A Great Opportunity to Help a Neighbor Nation Into 
a Larger and Better Life. We ought to see the hand of 
God in the events which have been stated. He is open- 
ing to Christian America an opportunity to help a neigh- 
boring nation which has had a somewhat tragic history. 
Mexico has been torn by revolutions. Its people have 
been groping blindly for a larger and a better life. Some 
of them are very bitter toward our nation. They say we 
have taken away their land by force and have laid hold 
on their mines and oil fields with a greed of gain which 
has not taken account of the rights of the Mexicans. 

By being neighborly to the Mexicans within our coun- 
try we may help to create a better feeling toward our 
nation on the part of the inhabitants of Mexico. Many 
Mexicans return from our country to their native land 
every year. If these returning citizens of Mexico bear 
back a word concerning the kindness and neighborliness 
of the Christians of the United States, the unfriendly 
feeling toward our nation will grow less. Every Mex- 
ican mission enterprise in our land is, therefore, like a 
beacon light on the borders of that land which is waiting 
for Him who is “the light of the wor!d.” 


THE First Camp Ever HELD For Mexican Boys 


Some three years ago a company of Christian men of 
California, who were interested in the welfare of their 
Mexican neighbors, thought that it would be a good 
plan to organize a summer camp for Mexican boys. Many 
people predicted failure for the enterprise. These people 





As the Mexican boys dramatized the story of Elijah and the priests of Baal. It is to boys like these that the 
Menaul School ministers 





PINGDOM= bASKSSHORSYOUNG DISCIPLES aif 


thought that the Mexican boys of great cities like Los 
Angeles and San Francisco would not care for camp life 
in the country. They thought that Mexican boys cared 
only for the moving-picture shows and other city amuse- 
ments. ‘These people did not realize that boys are boys 
the world around. 

Off the coast of southern California lies a rugged and 
beautiful island called Santa Catalina. It was here that 
the camp for Mexican boys was organized. One day 
the little steamer brought a cargo of dark-skinned lads 
into the beautiful bay of Avalon on the eastern side of 
Santa Catalina. The boys’ camp was situated in a little 
cove not far from Avalon. 

The camp life was a wonderful experience for the 
Mexican boys. No group of American boys ever enjoyed 
an outing more. For many of the Mexican lads it was 
the first real contact with the world of nature, with the 
sea, the mountains, the trees, and the birds. They were 
intensely interested in it all. They learned the names 
of the sea birds. Before they went back to their city 
homes they could name the different kinds of gulls, and 
could recognize the various shore birds which ran before 
them along the Catalina beaches. They climbed the 
rugged hills high above the little town of Avalon and 
looked out over a seemingly boundless expanse of ocean. 
They saw the wild goats go clattering down the rocky 
cliffs. They went fishing, and for the first time in their 
lives knew that there were fish like the tuna and the 
huge sea bass. 

At night, tired by their hikes across the hills, or their 
labors at the oars, the boys gathered about a big camp 
fire after supper. As the sunset glow faded behind the 
Satalinasnilissandathesstarsscamerout one by one, the 
strong Christian men who had charge of the camp talked 
quietly with the boys about some of the great problems 
of life. They spoke of true manhood and righteousness, 
and universal brotherhood as taught and lived by the 
Man of Galilee, who was himself a man of the out of 
doors, and who often spent his nights under the open, 
starlit sky. 

As the time drew near for the camp to break up, the 
boys and their leaders began to talk about a closing 


60 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


program. ‘The leaders had often told the boys Bible 
stories and it was decided that the boys should plan for 
the dramatization of some of these great tales of Bible 
history. The leaders made some suggestions, but the 
preparation was largely under the direction of the boys 
themselves. 

Various groups of boys presented different scenes, but 
it was generally agreed that the most striking presenta- 
tion was the dramatization of the story of Elijah and the 
priests of Baal on Mount Carmel. ‘The natural setting 
was well adapted for the dramatization of the story. 
Some rugged stones were piled together to form an altar 
in an open, level space. Close at hand rose the brush- 
clad slopes of the Catalina hills, not unlike the slopes of 
Mount Carmel itself. The contestants looked out across 
an expanse of sea, as Elijah and the priests of Baal and 
all the multitudes of the Jewish people looked out upon 
the Mediterranean from Carmel. 

The priests of Baal, clad only in turbans and breech- 
clouts, gathered about their altar. Bowing the knee, they 
cried out, “Baal, respéndenos! Baal, respondenos!” (Baal, 
hear us! Baal, hear us!) They grew more frantic, 
casting themselves upon the altar and crying more 
vehemently. Knives flashed and their blades daubed with 
crimson paint left gory marks on bare limbs and naked 
bodies. ; 

Elijah, white-robed and calm, drew near. ‘Cry aloud,” 
he said, “he is a god. Perhaps he is musing, or he is 
on a journey; or it may be that he is asleep and must be 
awakened.” At last the voices of the heathen priests 
failed and their demonstration ceased. It was now 
Flijah’s turn. 

Quietly the great prophet gathered twelve stones and 
out of them built an altar to Jehovah. Twelve times he 
poured water on the altar and on the wood. As he knelt 
to pray, a blinding flash like vivid lightning was seen 
upon the altar. It was only a photographer’s flashlight, 
but it was very realistic. The scene ended with the 
whole company of boys falling to the earth and crying 
in unison: “Jehovah, he is Cod: Jehovah, he is God!” 

Three years have passed since the holding of the Cata- 
lina camp for Mexican boys. Two of the boys who were 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 61 


enrolled in the camp are now studying for the ministry. 
Two are studying medicine. One is studying engineer- 
ing. Three are preparing themselves to become teachers 
among their own people. 


Tur LEsson PRAYER 


We ask thee, our Father in heaven, to give us a spirit 
of kindness toward those who are strangers in our midst. 
Help us to fulfill thy law and to love our neighbors as we 
love ourselves. Forgive us if we have been unjust as a 
nation or unkind as individuals toward peoples of a 
language and race different from our own. Make our 
country great and strong and may it ever be the refuge 
of the oppressed. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “Border Beacons,” Board of National Missions 
(lentiet). 

2. “The Forgotten Children of the Southwest,” Board 
of National Missions (leaflet). 

3. Spanish-Speaking Children of the Southwest,” 
McLean. Board of National Missions (pamphlet). 

4. “Facts About Spanish People of the Southwest.” 

5. Lantern Slides: “The Blood of the Conquerors,” 
McLean (88 slides). Portrays work among the Spanish- 
speaking peoples of the Southwest. 

“Our Neighbors of the Southwest,’ McLean (78 
slides). 

“Miguel in Camp.” Tells of the camp for Mexican 
boys. 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 
SINASMUGH? 


Matte 53a 1e4G 


We have been studying in these lessons about people 
of different races and nationalities—Indians, Negroes, 
Mexicans, Jews—all of them men and women and boys 


62 KINGDOM] TASK Ss FORFYOUNG DISCiPiies 


and girls whom wecan help. Sending ministers, teachers, 
and doctors among these neighbors and brothers of ours 
may be our way of giving the cup of cold water in His 
name. 

Even from a selfish.viewpoint we find that it pays to 
help those who have been less fortunate than we. If 
our country is to escape the tragedy of facing the race 
or class revolt which comes from long-repressed feelings 
of injustice and hatred, we Christians of America must 
see that these people receive fair treatment and show 
toward them a spirit of good will through friendly 
service. 


SoME Facts to BE DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


About one eighth of all the Mexicans in the world 
live ate presentain the Wnited) states) <li thes @imicn 
forces of our land can win these strangers within our 
gates, they will win all Mexico for Christ. 

Most of the Mexicans in our country have lost all 
connection with the Roman Catholic Church. ‘Their 
hearts are often hungry for the true religion of Jesus. 

Ten thousand Cuban young people are students in the 
schools and colleges of the United States. American 
students in schools enrolling Cuban students have a great 
opportunity to accomplish much by Christian friend- 
liness. 

Secure the following leaflets giving lives of people 
on our mission field and have them told in the first person: 

“Personal Experiences of a Shepherd’s Life To-Day.” 

i Called\to. Preach aulvicero: 

“Called to Nurse,’ Gonzales. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. What nations of the ‘Western |) Hemispheremare 
Spanish-speaking? 

2. Why is Christian America under special obligations 
to help Cuba? | | 

3. What evidences have the Christians of Cuba and 
of Porto Rico given that their Christianity is genuine? 

4. What two groups of Mexicans are living in the 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 63 


United States and how do they differ? Give story of 
shepherd boy. 

5. What is being done to help the Mexicans in our 
country? 

6. Tell about the camp for Mexican boys. 


BisluE VERSES 


xa ee Oc /em ey elo. lor Dette lo-4,5 Prove j725% 
Pe emo NAUK OOOO le ee Oli 36-10% Gals 571321 5¢ 
ees eco: 


‘Topics 


le Mlexicoand =the, Mexicans. -(look up! Aztecs, 
Cortez, Mexican Independence, and so forth, in an en- 
cyclopedia or general history.) 

2. Reasons for helping Spanish-speaking people. 

3. Ways in which our class can help the Mexicans 
of the United States. 
_ 4, Why mission work in the West Indies is especially 
important. : 

5. My experiences ina summer camp. (To be given 
to boys and girls who have been in summer camps.) 

6. The spirit which Jesus would have us show toward 
Mexicans and other strangers in our midst. 


PROJECTS 


Definite tasks in connection with the mission enter- 
prises carried on for Mexicans, Cubans, and Porto Ricans 
may be secured from the Board of National Missions. 
Supporting or partially supporting a pupil in Menaul 
school, helping a summer camp for Mexican boys or girls, 
or sending books and other articles to the mission sta- 
tions of Cuba or Porto Rico would be admirable projects 
for putting into expression the truths presented in this 
chapter. 

Suggestions as to work in Santo Domingo may be 
secured from the Board of Christian Work in Santo 
Domingo, 25 Madison Avenue, New York City. A con- 
tribution toward the building of a hospital or church in 
the island of Santo Domingo would be a suitable project 
for the class to undertake. 


CHAP ACE REG 


PLANTING GOD’S KINGDOM IN THE 
GREAT CITIES 


WEEK DAY SESSION 
CHRISTIANIZING THE BUSINESS WORLD 
Micah 2:1-11; Matt. 12: 9-14 


The cities of the United States are increasing in popula- 
tion far more rapidly than the country districts. At the 
time of the census of 1920, 68 of our cities had each a 
population of over 100,000. In these 68 cities live 27,- 
000,000 people, more than one fourth of all the people 
in. the country. Moreover, we’ have 219 lesser veities 
ranging in population from 25,000 to 100,000. These 
figures will help us to understand why the great problems 
of our day center in the cities. Take the temperance 
problem as an illustration. The prohibition measure 
would have carried long before it did in our nation, had 
it not been for the opposition of the great cities of the 
land. Country districts were in favor of prohibition many 
years before the Eighteenth Amendment was passed. 
Just now the problem of enforcement centers in the 
cities. 

It is in the great cities that problems concerning the 
relations of the employer to his employees are acute. It 
is in the cities that most of the immigrants have con- 
eregated. The problem of Christianizing business rela- 
tions and the problem of Christian Americanization are 
therefore both largely city problems. In the present 
lesson we are to consider the first of these two problems; 
the second will be considered in the next lesson. 

A Fearless Prophet Who Denounced the Business 
Methods of His Day. Micah 2:1-11.: The Prophet Micah 
was a man of spiritual vision. He saw the evils of his 
day and he had the courage to denounce them. God 
had brought the chosen people into the goodly land of 

64 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 65 


Canaan. He had great plans in view for his people. 
There was land enough for all of the Israelites. They 
might all have been comfortable and happy. God had 
given them a law which divided the land justly among the 
tribes. He had commanded that every fifty years the 
land was to come back to the descendants of those to 
whom it had first been given. Under such a law, rightly 
carried out, there could never have been any monopoly 
of the land. Greedy persons found a way to get around 
God’s good law. It was of these people that Micah said: 
“Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon 
their beds! .. . They covet fields, and seize them; and 
houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man 
and his house, even a man and his heritage.” 

Micah had seen this injustice going on. He had seen 
women and children cast out from the homes which, 
under the just laws of God, belonged to them. ‘The 
women of my people,” said Micah, “ye cast out from 
their pleasant houses; from their young children ye take 
away my glory for ever.” 

Jesus Teaches the Supreme Value of a Man. Matt. 
12:9-14. What is a human being worth? To this question 
there are two answers. There is the answer which pagan- 
ism gives, and the answer which Christianity gives. 
The pagan answer asserts that the human individual is 
not worth much. The Romans crowded hundreds of 
slaves into the arena, and made them fight one another 
to death in order to amuse the people. That was pagan- 
ism, which says that the human individual is not of much 
value. When Napoleon said that it was a small matter 
for him to lose a hundred thousand soldiers, his was 
the pagan attitude. When little children have to live in 
wretched slums in the great cities where they have little 
chance to grow up strong in body and clean in soul, 
that is the result of the pagan attitude. When boys and 
girls are compelled to work in factories and coal mines 
when they ought to be in school, or at play, that is 
paganism in industry. It is an industry whose leaders 
say that the children are not worth much, but that large 
profits for those who are already wealthy are worth a 
ereat deal. 

The scribes and Pharisees had a pagan notion about 


4 


66 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


the worth of the human individual. They despised pub- 
licans and sinners, because they had no idea how precious 
even one sinner is in the sight of God and of the angels. 
They were terribly offended because Jesus healed a man 
on the Sabbath, but they themselves did not hesitate to 
lift a sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath. They putethe 
value of a sheep above the value of a man. Jesus said, 
“How much then is a man of more value than a sheep!” 

A Task Which Awaits the Christian Boys and Girls 
of To-Day. The principles of Jesus have never really been 
applied to the business world. Pagan standards have had 
too large a place in business. The value of the individual 
has not been recognized as Jesus recognized it. Selfish 
interests have crowded out the Golden Rule. The busi- 
ness world is yet to be Christianized. Here and there a 
start has been made in the right direction, but the task 
is hardly begun. It awaits the boys and girls of to-day. 
If they grow to manhood and womanhood with the ideals 
of Jesus as their ideals, they will be able to accomplish 
the task of applying the principles of Jesus to the business 
methods of the world. 


Mr. Nasu APPLIES THE GOLDEN RULE TO BUSINESS 


It will be hard for Intermediate pupils to grasp the 
full significance of the somewhat abstract, statements 
which are found in the preceding paragraphs. Perhaps 
a story concerning a business man who tried to carry 
on his business in full harmony with the principles of 
Jesus may be helpful at this point. 

Mr. Nash is a business man of Cincinnati, Ohio. He 
had been engaged in business for a good many years 
when the World War began. Two of his sons went 
to the war. During the trying times of the great con- 
flict, the heart of Mr. Nash was wrung with deep anxiety 
for his boys. They went to the front. After a time 
both came home suffering from shell shock. While the 
boys were being slowly nursed back to health, Mr. Nash 
was doing some deep and serious thinking. He was ask- 
ing himself what was wrong with the world. Why did 
such wars break out from time to time? Would there 
be other wars following the great World War? 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 67 


Mr. Nash came to the conclusion that wars came be- 
cause people did not obey the commandments of Jesus. 
He concluded that if people would obey the Golden Rule 
there would be no more wars. So he determined to apply 
the Golden Rule to his life and to his business. He 
would do to other people exactly as he would have them 
do to him, and he would do it no matter what it cost 
or how much other people laughed at him. 

Soon after Mr. Nash made this resolution, under the 
providence of God, he became the sole owner of a large 
manufacturing establishment. He came into possession 
of the plant without knowing much about it. It came to 
him in payment of-money due him, or something of that 
sort. 

It was not long before Mr. Nash found that he had 
come into possession of a notorious “sweat shop.” A 
sweat shop is a place where clothing is made by work- 
men so poorly paid that they have to work many hours 
auday inorder toveke out a miserable living, Mr Nash 
lay awake nights thinking over the situation. He thought 
of the hard-working, poorly paid employees in his shop. 
He could run the business as it had always been run 
and make some money for himself, but that would not 
Bemeteivano out the sGoldenjsRule Te asked@himselt 
what wages he would expect to receive if he were doing 
the various kinds of work done in his shop, and decided 
that he would. not be at all contented with less than 
twice what his employees were receiving. ‘To double the 
wages of his employees looked like certain ruin for 
the enterprise. There had been some little profit for the 
owner of the business, but to double the wages of all em- 
ployees would more than wipe out all profits. 

“And yet,” said Mr. Nash, “I have determined to apply 
the Golden Rule to my business and I will do it, come 
what may.” The next morning he went to the shop and 
called all the workmen about him. He talked with them 
saying that he hoped they would all take an interest in 
making the business a success, and that promotions would 
depend upon faithfulness in labor. The workers listened 
in sullen silence. They had heard such things before, 
but there had been too much ill will between employer 
and employees in that shop for the workmen to take 


68 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


much interest in the new proprietor. ‘They believed that 
he would be just as their former employers had been. 
So when he spoke of the Golden Rule in business and his 
determination to make it the rule of the shop, they had 
nothing to say. Mr. Nash made his purpose plain; he 
told them he intended to treat them just as he would 
like to have them treat him if he were in their places. 
They did not believe he meant a word of it, however, 
so they kept a sullen silence. 

When the work of the factory began again, Mr. Nash 
walked about among his workmen. He came up to a 
skilled mechanic, one of the highest paid men in the shop 
and said to him, “By the way, what wages do you receive, 
my friend?’ The workman replied, “Twenty-seven 
dollars a week.” Mr. Nash replied, “From this time, 
your wages will be fifty-four dollars a week.” So the 
proprietor went about from one to another and in each 
case he promised to double the wages each had been 
receiving. Last tofj;jall) the came'/to’ an” old)” benieoves 
woman who was sewing on buttons. “And what are 
your wages, my woman?” said Mr. Nash. “Three dol- 
lars a week,” was the reply. Mr. Nash said, “From now 
your wages will be six dollars a week.” Then he left 
the shop. | 

No sooner had the owner of the shop taken his de- 
parture than an Italian workman threw his cap high in 
the air and in broken English declared with a whoop, 
“T’ll be hanged, fellows, if I don’t believe that the boss 
meant what he said about that there Golden Rule.” For 
some reason that factory began to hum with a new note 
of busy industry. The “slackers” who had been accus- 
tomed to do as little work as they could and yet draw 
pay, took hold with a will. 

Mr. Nash went home and told his wife he was going 
on a journey into the country to buy a farm. He said he 
had doubled the wages of every employee in the shop 
and did not see how he could escape bankruptcy. He 
was going to buy a farm, he said, so as to have a place 
to go when the financial crash came. His only explana- 
tion of his conduct was that he did not see how he could 
have done anything else without abandoning his alle- 
giance to the Golden Rule. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 69 


Mr. Nash was gone some weeks. On his return he 
summoned his foreman with some misgivings. He ex- 
pected to hear of financial difficulties foretelling a col- 
lapse of the business. Instead he heard of the most 
profitable period of business the shop had known in many 
months. Everybody was working with a will, the fore- 
man said, and profits were piling up daily. 

And so it continued month after month. At the end 
of the year Mr. Nash found that the shop had earned 
forty or fifty thousand dollars clear of all expenses. That 
night Mr. Nash did some more thinking. He said to 
imcelienn loathisumoneyeallentitic: | Canal akeepviteand 
still be doing to my employees as I would have them 
do to me?” Being an honest man he had to answer 
these questions in the negative. He had received a gen- 
erous profit from the earnings and still there was this 
forty or fifty thousand dollars left over. He determined 
that he would keep for himself an amount equal to five 
per cent of the money he had invested in the business 
and give all the rest to the workmen by whose industry 
it had been produced. 

And so he called the workmen and explained the situa- 
tion. He told them there was in the treasury of the com- 
pany about forty thousand dollars to be divided among 
them in the way which they, themselves, determined. 
Afterwards the workmen held a meeting and discussed 
the matter. They decided to divide the sum equally. 
And so it came to pass that the old woman who sewed 
on buttons received the same portion of the profits that 
the highest paid official received. 

Mr. Nash found out that the Golden Rule paid. When 
all the business men of America have learned this lesson, 
we shall see the end of most of the strikes and labor dis- 
turbances which have so often marred the peace of our 
nation, and brought to naught the prosperity which a 
generous Providence was ready to bestow. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS * 
1. Organizing the Churches for City Work. (See 
“The Church in Greater San Francisco,’ by Donaldson.) 


1 These materials may be obtained from the Board of National 
Missions. 


70 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


2. “Looking Up from America’s Immigrant and In- 
dustrial Communities” (pamphlet). 

3. “Who Is Your Neighbor?” (large bulletin with 
many pictures of immigrants.) 

4. “A Neighborhood Service” (pamphlet). 

5. “Children of Copperland,”’ by Kelly (pamphlet). 


SUNDAY SESSION 
CHRISTIAN AMERICANIZATION 
Isa. 26:1-7; 60:4-14 


Christian Americanization was mentioned in the pre- 
ceding lesson as one of the great tasks connected with 
the’ cities of our nation, By*iar the eréaten porauommer 
immigrants coming to our shores have settled in our 
cities, many of them in such large urban centers as New 
York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit. 

Isaiah foresaw the time when the nations of the earth 
should come to the Jewish nation seeking the true light 
which comes from God. He foretold the time when 
foreigners would build up the walls of Jerusalem which 
foreigners had thrown down. It would almost seem that 
this prophecy were being generously fulfilled in our land. 
For many years foreign peoples have been flocking to 
the United States. They have helped to subdue the 
American wilderness, and to build the American cities. 
They have helped to make America great and strong. 
Most of those who came some years ago have become 
thoroughly loyal American citizens. In other words, 
they have become Americanized. Their children and 
their children’s children are native-born Americans. 

The Changed Character of the European Immigrant. 
Fifty years ago the immigrants who came to our shores 
were nearly all from the north of Europe. They came 
from England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and Scan- 
dinavia. ‘They were closely related to the first settlers 
of America, the colonial Americans. To-day most of the 
immigrants from Furope come from the south and east 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES yen 


of the continent and from the Balkan States. During 
the past few years there have come to the United States 
3,000,000 Italians, 400,000 Hungarians, 3,000,000 Poles, 
1,500,000 Jugoslavs, 400,000 Czechs, 400,000 Slovaks, 
400,000 Russians, 350,000 Ukrainians, and almost equally 
great multitudes from countries like Greece, Syria, and 
Eersia: 

The Americanization of these new arrivals is a more 
serious undertaking than was the Americanization of the 
earlier immigrants, many of whom spoke the English 
language and all of whom were much like the American 
people in their customs and ideals. Many of the immi- 
grants of recent years came to us without knowing much 
about the laws and principles of government which have 
been so helpful in the upbuilding of our nation. 

The Public Schools an Agency for Americanization. 
The children of the immigrants are being Americanized 
in our public schools. There they are learning the Eng- 
lish language. In the public schools they are learning 
American history and something of American govern- 
ment. They are coming to know something of the Amer- 
ican ideals of democracy and equality. The public schools 
will help these children to grow into intelligent American 
citizens, but there are certain necessary elements of 
citizenship which the public schools cannot teach, 

The Churches Must Give to the Immigrants the Ideals 
of Christian Citizenship. Our nation owes its greatness 
and its strength to the fact that its founders laid for it 
foundations which are Christian. True self-government 
and true democracy are born of the teachings of Jesus. 
The children of the immigrants are being Americanized 
in our public schools, but if they are to become Christian 
Americans, our Churches must lend a hand. Without 
this element in their education the new-found freedom 
of the immigrants may not prove a blessing to them or 
to their American neighbors. These newcomers need not 
only the larger opportunities offered to them in America, 
but also the larger and better ideals of life and brother- 
hood which are found alone in the religion of Jesus. 

How the Churches Are Meeting the Needs of the Im- 
migrant. It is good to know that our Churches are rec- 
ognizing their duty in this matter and are putting in 


72 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


operation agencies intended to aid these new Americans. 
Churches are being organized in which the services are 
carried on in the native languages of the immigrants. 
This is a great blessing to many of the older generation 
of immigrants who will never be able to learn much of 
the English language. Many churches are building what 
are called “neighborhood houses” in the midst of foreign- 
speaking communities. These houses minister to many 
needs of the immigrants. They hold classes where the 
English language is taught. They have day nurseries 
where the mothers who work in factories or mills can 
leave their young children during the day. They have 
libraries and moving pictures. Many of them have free 
clinics or medical examinations where the immigrant 
mothers can have their children examined and can re- 
ceive instruction concerning how to care for them in 
the strange surroundings of their new home. 

Churches are recognizing that their greatest channel 
of service lies with the children, and so they are organ- 
izing Sunday schools, Daily Vacation Bible Schools, and 
week-day classes for the instruction of the children and 
young people in the principles of the Christian religion. 
Boys’ clubs and girls’ clubs are being formed and the 
young people are brought under the influence of Amer- 
ican leaders of high character. In fact, the neighbor- 
hood house is just what its name implies, a house where 
immigrants and Americans meet one another in a 
friendly, helpful, and neighborly way. 

The New Immigrants Will Help to Make America 
Great, if Americans Are Neighborly with Them. The 
greatest nations of the world have had a composite popu- 
lation; that is their population has been made up by the 
blending of many types of people into one. Our present 
position among the nations of the earth is due in a con- 
siderable degree to the fact that Anglo-Saxon, Scandi- 
navian, Teuton, and Latin peoples have here met and 
united into one great people. Each has brought some 
element of strength which the other did not possess in 
a high degree and thus the coming of each has blessed all 
the others. It will be so with our newest Americans. 
Ii we receive them in a neighborly way so that they 
become loyal and sympathetic citizens of our nation, they 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 73 


will help to make America great and strong. If we are 
clannish and refuse to treat the new Americans as neigh- 
bors and fellow citizens, we are fostering class hatreds 
and divisions which will weaken our nation. 


MAKING THE DrEarF To HEAR AND THE LAME Ta WALK 


Michael Savanoff was a Ukrainian peasant. He had 
heard rumors of America and the wonderful opportunities 
it offered to the European workingman who could man- 
age to make the long journey to the United States. For 
years he had saved his money with scrupulous care and at 
last he landed with his wife and five children in New York 
City. Now there are probably many opportunities in 
America which would have satisfied the fondest dreams 
of Michael Savanoff, but we have not built up the 
routine necessary for putting the immigrant immediately 
in touch with these opportunities. Michael found a few 
of his own people in New York City and under their 
guidance he went to the industrial regions in the out- 
skirts of Chicago. He secured employment in a great 
cement plant. 

There were huge steel works in the neighborhood, and 
the skies were often overcast by the black smoke of the 
furnaces. The dust from the cement works settled down 
all over the region in which Michael’s family lived. Their 
home was a poor little shack which had been hastily 
erected along with many others to house the working- 
men of the region. It was not safe to drink the water 
in Lake Michigan, and there were only a few wells of 
good water in all the community. Sometimes the chil- 
dren forgot about the water being bad and drank from 
the city-water faucets. Then they were very apt to 
take typhoid fever. So there was usually a great deal of 
sickness in the community where the Ukrainian peasant 
had made his new home. 

Michael had been a farmer in Russia, but in the new 
world he had no opportunity to carry on the one type 
of work in which he was skilled. At least he did not know 
how to get in touch with the farm life of America. Being 
unskilled in any other kind of work he had to take the 
hardest task the cement factory offered and the task which 


74 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


received the smallest pay. Even so, at first his wages 
seemed a fabulous sum to Michael. This was before he 
began to realize how much more it cost to live in a great, 
industrial center in the United States than it cost to live 
in a farming community in the Ukraine. 

However, Michael had been brought up under the most 
rigid economy and he would have come out all right if 
sickness had not come to his home. The conditions 
under which the family lived began to undermine the 
health of his children. One after another they became 
sick, and one after another they passed into the great 
beyond. 

Michael and his good wife had only a few Ukrainian 
friends to sympathize with them. Most of their neigh- 
bors were foreigners who spoke another language. As 
for American folk, the little Ukrainian family had no 
more contact with them than they had in the far-away 
Ukraine. These Ukrainian peasants in their Gethsemane 
of sorrow received no consoling sympathy from any 
American family. They walked in their Garden alone. 

At last the time came when they had just one little 
daughter left to them. She was a cripple who had never 
walked a step in her life, and moreover she was entirely 
deaf and had never learned to talk. She was a constant 
care to her mother. 

After some years of toil in the cement plant, the iron 
strength of the Ukrainian peasant began to give way. 
The constant dust had given him a cough which hung on 
for month after month. He began to be so ill that occa- 
sionally he could not go to the mill and, for the first 
time, want began to haunt that wretched home like a 
wolf at the door. Michael’s wife saw that she must take 
a hand in winning bread for the family. However, with 
the little crippled daughter to look after, her hands were 
tied. 

Now there were many Christian families among the 
American people living not so very far away, and many 
of these American people would have been glad to help 
Michael and his wife had they known about their con- 
dition. They were so busy with their own affairs, how- 
ever, that they had not taken time to find out much about 
the lives of their immigrant neighbors. About this time 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 75 


some of these Christian Americans started a neighbor- 
hood house not far from Michael’s home. One day 
Michael’s wife learned that in this neighborhood house 
there was a day nursery where she could leave her little 
daughter while she went out to work. So she took 
her child there in the early morning and, after working 
all day in a laundry, she called again for her at night 
and took her home. She found the people in charge 
of the neighborhood house kind and deeply interested in 
her problems, so she opened her heart to them. 

One day there was a medical clinic established \at the 
neighborhood house, and some skilled physicians exam- 
ined the little crippled girl. They said that if she could 
be taken to a hospital for a few months she might be 
cured of her lameness and of her deafness. The Ukrainian 
peasants had no money to pay for the healing of their 
child, but they were assured that this made no difference 
at all in the affairs connected with the neighborhood 
house. 

There was an employment agency carried on in con- 
nection with the house, and through this means Michael 
was able to secure a more healthful kind of work at an 
increased wage. Under the care of the neighborhood- 
house workers the family moved to a better neighborhood 
and into more healthful quarters. 

After a time the little lame daughter came home. Her 
ankles had been straightened by the skill of American 
surgery and her ears had been unstopped. In a little 
while she learned to run about as other children did, 
and soon she was talking not only the language of her 
Ukrainian parents but also the English language. Chris- 
tian neighborliness had reached the family and saved it 
from despair. 


THE LESSON PRAYER 


We ask thee, our Father in heaven, to give us the 
spirit of Christian neighborliness. Help us to realize 
that all the people of the earth are thy children and that 
thou dost love them all. Bless our country and help us 
make it strong. May it ever be a land of opportunity 
for people from all parts of the earth. We ask in Jesus’ 
name. Amen. 


76 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


SUPPLEMENTAL LEsSSoN MATERIALS 


Leaflets published by the Board of National Missions: 


‘Hacts Bregvelr esbyterian Should Know About Jewish 
Evangelization.” 

“Suey Ching—Lost and Found.” 

“They Call\Her Fahni Quai, he Whitesspiritss 

Rainbow Series—‘Foreigners.”’ 

“Who Is Your Neighbor?” 

“Six Acres Known All Over Europe.” 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 
OUR CYETESSAN DI OURSELVES 
Rey. 3:14-22 


“O beautiful for patriot dream 
That sees beyond the years 
Thine alabaster cities gleam, 
Undimmed by human tears! 
America! America! 
God shed his grace on thee 
And crown thy good with brotherhood 
From sea to shining sea!” 


We often sing this stirring stanza with great enthusi- 
asm, but when it comes to doing anything to make it an 
actual fact we are found to be “neither cold nor hot.” If 
we live in the city, there is no reason why we should not 
be of some service. If we are in the country, we can 
at least know about some of the conditions and under- 
stand better what needs to be done. 

If you live in a city, visit a settlement or institutional 
church to see what is being done. Give a report on it 
at the meeting. Find out what your group can do to help. 

If you do not live in the city, find out all you can 
about some settlement work in the nearest big city. 

What are the largest immigrant groups in your com- 
munity? If there are none in your own vicinity, what 
are the largest groups in your state? 

What sort of work do these newcomers among us do? 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES Oh 


What is their pay? Where and how do they live? Try 
to learn these things at first hand if possible. 

From what countries do the immigrants come? Locate 
these countries on a map of Europe. What are their 
traditions? Who are their heroes? Of what in their 
country’s history are they proud? What are their folk 
songs, their amusements? 


SomE Facts To BE DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


Many of our own outstanding citizens come to us as 
immigrants. Look up the lives of Mary Antin, Edward 
Steiner, Edward Bok, Jacob Riis, and others. 

The Presbyterian Church is interested in Christianizing 
as well as Americanizing the immigrant. Have some one 
prepared to tell briefly of the work of our Board of 
National Missions. 

Ask an older immigrant to discuss what his countrymen 
have to offer America, and what America means to him. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Why do most of the great problems of our day 
have their center in the cities of the nation? 

2. In what ways does American business need to be 
Christianized? 

3. What two estimates are put on the value of the 
human individual? 

4. Why is Christian Americanization a matter of im- 
portance? 

5. Describe the work of a neighborhood house. 

6. From what countries have most of our immigrants 
come-of later 


BIBLE VERSES 


Remo 4) 2771s lsaceZzOn li 42 4 60 Lo evA cts: $2448 ° 
Pieteeler 22 loel4 Y Revo ae. 


Topics 


1. The first city mentioned in the Bible and the man 
who built it. 
2. Jesus weeping over the city of Jerusalem, Juke 


19 :41-44. 


78 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


3. The place held by Jerusalem in the affections of the 
pious Jews. See Psalm 122. 

4. How the work of a church in a great city differs 
from the work of a church in a small town. 

5. Protestant strength of our city. (If these lessons 
are being used in a city it will be worth while to in- 
vestigate this matter.) 

6. What our department can do to help to make our 
city more Christian. 

7. Is it possible to apply the Golden Rule to business? 


PROJECTS 


The Department of City and Immigrant Work of the 
Board of National Missions will be glad to put the class 
in touch with work like that of the neighborhood houses. 
If the class can take up some helpful work for foreign 
people in the community in which the church school is 
carried on, it will be doubly valuable as a Christian 
project. 


CHAP EE Ray. L 


WINNING COUNTRY COMMUNITIES FOR 
CUS leAN Da eG ak GE 


WEEK DAY SESSION 
SAVIN Geli becCOUNT RYE CIIU RCH 
Luke 12:22-34 


On a hillside the greatest of teachers was talking to 
a throng of eager listeners. And His talk was not in 
great, sounding flights of oratory, but in simple words, 
of the birds and the lilies and the grass, things that the 
humblest of his hearers could understand. Telling them 
not to be troubled, he pointed to the care-free birds of 
the air, or to the flowers arrayed in such beauty as no 
man or woman could hope to buy, as examples of the 
heavenly Father’s care. Could we have listened to this 
kindly Teacher day by day, we should have found his 
talk full of the sights and the smells, the pleasures and 
the toils of the country. He illustrated the various sorts of 
persons among his hearers by the varying soils on which 
the sower casts his seed, he pictured his own love for 
men as that of a good shepherd. He tried to help his 
hearers to understand spiritual truths by drawing com- 
parisons from birds and trees and flowers, from wheat 
fields and vineyards, from sunrises and sunsets. 

As we listen to the musically flowing words of the 
gospel stories, we can almost see our Lord walking along 
the dusty road with his disciples, to or from some feast; 
sitting tired beside a well at noontide; strolling through 
the ripening fields of his beloved Galilee, in friendly 
converse with a little group of men; or standing outside 
a humble cottage door, as the sinking sun beautified all 
the countryside with soft light, and healing with a touch 
or a word the lame, the sick, and the blind who thronged 
to seek his help. During the last visit to Jerusalem, it 
was to the little town of Bethany that Jesus and his 

79 


80 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


disciples returned from the city in the evenings. It was 
to a garden that he retired for that last night of prayer, 
and it was there under the stars that the mob found him. 

So it seems especially fitting that little white churches 
should point their spires skyward from among the trees 
by the side of country roads, and that out over quiet 
countrysides the church bells should sound on Sunday 
mornings, calling men and women and children to gather 
and worship in the name of Him who loved the country. 

The Cities Depend Upon the Country. We have 
learned to-day how much one part of the world is de- 
pendent upon another. By thinking of how we get the 
food we eat and the clothes we wear, we can easily see 
that the city and the country each get from the other 
things that they need. But as we recall the early days 
before there were large cities in our country—when New 
York and Philadelphia were little more than large towns 
—-we realize that if one had to exist without the other it 
would be the country which would survive. The industry 
and business activities of the city are made possible 
by the raw materials provided by the country districts 
and by the market which they furnish for the completed 
products. The country furnishes food for the city 
dwellers to eat and materials for them to use in their 
manufacturing. In return the city provides cloth, agri- 
cultural machinery and many things without which it 
would be difficult for the country to thrive. The cities, 
however, could not exist at all without the cooperation 
of the country districts. “Destroy all our cities and leave 
the farms of the nation,” said William Jennings Bryan, 
“and in a few years the farms will rebuild every city that 
was destroyed. But destroy our farms, and grass will 
grow in the streets of every city in the land.” 

Just now we are seeing a constant increase in the 
number of people in our cities; but many of the leaders 
of city life have come originally from the country. This 
is especially true in religious matters. One small church 
in the South has sent fifty men into the ministry in as 
many years. Many larger churches in cities have sent 
not even one during a corresponding period of time. 

Country Churches Make It Possible for City Churches 
to Survive. From what has been said it will be seen 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 81 


that the country churches make it possible for the city 
churches to survive. They are like the springs and 
brooks which make it possible for great rivers to flow 
onward to the sea. In the preceding chapter we saw 
how the great problems of our day center in the cities. 
We can see from what has been said in this lesson that 
the cities can never solve these problems aright without 
the aid of the country districts of the nation. The main- 
tenance of the Christian religion in the villages and small 
towns, in the open country, and in the most remote com- 
munities of the backwoods, is, therefore, a matter of fun- 
damental importance for the progress of our nation in 
righteousness and for the task of establishing God’s 
Kingdom on earth. 


Problems of the Country Church. 


“My native country, thee, 
Land of the noble free, 
Thy name I love; 
I love thy rocks and rills, 
Thy woods and templed hills; 
My heart with rapture thrills 
Like that above.” 


This stanza of our national anthem is a picture of New 
England with its rocks, rills, woods, and church-crowned 
hills. The picture is now in danger of losing some of its 
features. The “rocks and rills” of New England abide; 
its woods spring up anew in the pathway of the axman; 
but its “templed hills” are passing away. The traveler 
in New England to-day will often see a white church 
spire rising about the tree tops of a hill, only to discover 
on a nearer approach that the windows and doors of 
the church are boarded up and the building is falling into 
decay. The templed hills have made New England great, 
and the passing of these country temples, where our 
Pilgrim forefathers worshiped God, is a matter which 
ought to cause us deep concern. 

A few country churches are flourishing, but as a whole 
they are declining. Many of them have already died and 
others are hardly alive. Of 1515 country churches in a 
certain sections of Ohio, three fourths were not making 
any gain in membership and two thirds were going down- 


82 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


hill. Under present conditions a country church of less 
than one hundred members has only one chance in three 
of Surviving. © sixty (per cent of the’ churchesmimmine 
open country have less than one hundred members. It 
would seem, therefore, that nearly one half of the coun- 
try churches of the nation are doomed unless something 
can be done to save them. 

The hardships of the country church are due to several 
causes. First of all there is a decreasing population of 
many country districts. The people move away to town 
and the church loses ground with each removal. Some- 
times when the population does not actually decrease it 
changes. Foreign-speaking people take the places of the 
American farmers who have kept the church going. In 
some country districts there are too many Protestant 
churches. Different denominations have entered the field 
and the work of the Kingdom has suffered because of the 
fact that small, weak, and competing churches are trying 
to exist where one strong church could do the work much 
better 

What Is Being Done to Help the Country Churches. 
Most denominations are coming to realize the importance 
of the country church and are setting on foot movements 
for helping country people to keep up their church ac- 
tivities. Most denominations have organized Depart- 
ments of Church and Country Life, or some similar de- 
partment. Under such organizations the problems of the 
country church are being studied with care. Ministers 
are being trained who intend:to make country-church 
work a life task. The overcrowding in some sections 
is being overcome by what are known as comity agree- 
ments. For example, if there are three weak churches 
in a section where one could do the work, two denomina- 
tions withdraw, leaving one to carry on the work. Some 
other field is found where similar conditions exist and 
here one of the denominations which withdrew from the 
other field is given the whole task. Some denominations 
have organized what they call demonstration parishes. 
These parishes are country communities where the de- 
nomination helps the people to put on a model country 
church program, a program in which the church is made 
the social and religious center of the community. 


KINGDOMVIASKS BOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 83 


How CHRISTIANITY CONQUERED THE CITIES OF THE 
PHILISTINE PLAIN 


Everyone who has studied the Old Testament has 
heard of Gaza, Ashdod, Ekron, Ashkelon, and Gath. These 
were “the five cities of the Philistines.” They lay upon 
the plains next to the Mediterranean Sea or on the hills 
bordering that region. The armies of Israel sometimes 
swept up to the gates of these Philistine cities, but 
during Old Testament times they never gained per- 
manent possession of any of them. They lay as a barrier 
between the land of Israel and the seacoast. 

In New Testament times these same cities were strong- 
holds of paganism. In the days of the early Christian 
Church they still stood as a barrier between Palestine and 
the sea. As they had prevented the Hebrews from 
securing a harbor on the coast, so now they hindered the 
free spread of Christianity across the world. Missionaries 
of the Christian religion early saw the necessity of 
winning these cities for Christ. They entered these 
strongholds of paganism and preached Jesus, but they 
were cast out, imprisoned, and put to death. These idol- 
worshiping cities would not accept the religion of Jesus. 
It seemed impossible to find any way of planting the 
Church within their gates. 

Some farseeing Church leaders of the day saw a way 
to bring the gospel to these cities. They knew that these 
cities of the plain depended upon the people of the sur- 
rounding country just as we have seen that the cities 
of our own times depend upon the country districts of 
the nation. So these Church leaders undertook to win 
the country districts of the Philistine plain and the 
neighboring hills for Christ. They were succeeding very 
well with the undertaking, when the pagan rulers of the 
city found out what was going on and came out to drive 
the Christian religion from the country districts as they 
had driven it from the cities. They found that this was 
a harder task than they had thought. The Christians 
retired to the hills which are full of hidden caves. Visit 
the region of low hills known as “the Shephalah” and 
you may see to-day the caves where the Christians lived 
during these times of persecution. They dug out great 


84 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


underground chambers where they lived and stored their 
food,and worshiped God in the name of Jesus. On the 
walls of these caves you may still read the inscriptions 
which these early followers of Christ wrote there. 

The pagan rulers of the land could not find all the 
Christians or could they watch every cave and lonely 
gorge, so the Christians had a chance to meet the coun- 
try people who dwelt on the hills and in the adjoining 
plain. Little by little they won these country people for 
the Church. Many of these country Christians found 
their way into the pagan cities. At first they were per- 
secuted and driven away, but after a while the whole 
country region was won for Christ. The cities found 
that they could not keep the Christians out any longer 
and so they surrendered. The Christian religion was 
allowed to enter these ancient Philistine cities and in a 
little while it almost completely superseded the idol wor- 
ship which had so long defied the true religion. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. - ‘Church-eand Country -Lite;s Wilsons Boaraman 
National Missions (leaflet). 

2. “Dan’s Story.” (The story of a physician in the 
southern mountains as told by his horse.) Board of Na- 
tional Missions. | 


SUNDAY SESSION 


REACHING THE NEGLECTED CHILDREN OF 
RURAL AMERICA 


Matt. 18:1-14 


The Pharisees said that no rabbi ought to talk much 
with children. They believed that a great teacher would 
lose his ability to think deeply and logically if he were 
a companion of boys and girls. In this matter, as in 
so many others, Jesus was opposed to the religious leaders 
of his day. Instead of fearing to have fellowship with 
children lest he might become like them, he told his dis- 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 85 


ciples that they must become like children if they wished 
to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus welcomed the 
fellowship of the children. Some of his most solemn 
warnings were uttered against causing children to 
stumble. He said of children that it was not the will 
of the Father in heaven that one of them should perish. 

Christian nations are realizing more and more the im- 
measurable importance of the child. They are coming 
to see that no nation can advance or hold its own in 
matters of civilization, if it neglects its children. Prot- 
estant Churches are awakening to a new realization of the 
place which the child and his education must hold in 
a program of world-wide evangelism. (Not all Protestant 
Churches are yet aware of the importance of work with 
children. Some of them are still adult-minded, giving 
most of their effort to a ministry for grown people. ‘The 
task of rearranging the church program so as to place 
the child in the midst is yet to be accomplished. Per- 
haps it is one of the great tasks which the boys and girls 
of to-day will complete in the years of their manhood 
and womanhood.) 

America’s Greatest Peril. The spiritual neglect of 
childhood has been said to be America’s greatest peril. 
Protestant Churches are not reaching with religious in- 
struction more than forty per cent of the children right- 
fully belonging to them. That is, at any one time only 
forty per cent of these children are enrolled in the Sunday 
schools and other educational agencies of the Protestant 
Churches. Only about forty per cent of the children 
reached by the educational agencies of the Protestant 
Churches are brought into Church membership. Here 
is one of the greatest tasks of the Protestant Church to- 
day, the task of reaching all the children it can rightfully 
claim and of providing them with an educational program 
which will bring them into lasting relationships with 
the Church. It is such an important task that we shall 
give it more adequate attention in a succeeding lesson. 
In this lesson we shall consider those of America’s chil- 
dren who are living in rural communities and are in need 
of the help which the Church ought to give to them. 

The map on page 86 shows where the spiritually neg- 
lected children of America are living. Seven states 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


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KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 87 


have each more than a million of these neglected children 
within their borders. Seventeen more have over a half 
million each. Taken all together, there are twenty-seven 
millions of these neglected children and youth in our 
country. Jesus would say of them all that it is not the 
will of the Father in heaven that one of them should 
perish. The task of reaching these neglected millions 
is a great and difficult task, but is not impossible. Prac- 
tically all these spiritually neglected children are in some 
school where they are receiving secular instruction if 
they are of school age. Their education in geography, 
arithmetic, and grammar is not being neglected. If the 
Churches can make their program as effective as that of 
the public schools, the problem will practically be solved. 

The Work of the Sunday-School Missionaries. The 
_ Sunday-school missionaries are doing much to bring the 
neglected children of America into touch with the gospel 
of Jesus. These servants of Jesus go to the remote com- 
munities of our nation, to places which are often too 
thinly populated to maintain a church. There they gather 
the children, and all others who will come, into some 
_ schoolhouse or other available building and start a Sun- 
day school. ‘They sometimes stay on the ground for 
several weeks until they get the Sunday school under 
way and secure leaders who will carry it on after they 
have gone. In this way the children of new settlements 
on the plains are being reached. Children of mountain 
districts are being gathered into these country Sunday 
schools in northern Maine, in the mountains of Virginia, 
and Tennessee, in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and 
Arkansas, and throughout the great mountain ranges of 
our western states. 

In thousands of frontier homes the Sunday-school mis- 
sionary is the only minister who ever comes across the 
threshold. He carries with him Bibles and sometimes 
good books. He is the “Sky Pilot” of the pioneer as well 
as the friend of the pioneer’s children. 

New Agencies Needed. It is coming to be generally 
understood that the country Sunday school is not in itself 
a sufficient agency for instructing the children of rural 
America in religion. Many of these schools find it pos- 
sible to run for only a part of the year. The Sunday- 


88 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


school missionaries are, therefore, doing more than start- 
ing Sunday schools. They organize Vacation Bible 
Schools which run through four or five weeks of the 
summer-vacation period, meeting every day and holding 
sessions of two or three hours a day. Many of these 
vacation schools have been held far up among the iron 
ranges of Wisconsin and Michigan. ‘They have been 
organized among the Indian children on the reservations. 
They have gathered the children of coal miners in Illinois 
and Indiana, giving to them their first glimpses of the 
Christ who loves children and who would have his Church 
love them too. 

In a few communities, week-day religious instruction 
has been introduced by the Sunday-school missionaries 
and others. ‘The public schools, in such instances, give 
up one or two hours a week in order that the children 
may be instructed in religion by some pastor or other 
teacher. The plan has great possibilities. The public 
schools are reaching practically all the children of Amer- 
ica. If religious instruction can be made available for the 
public-school pupils of the nation, and can be given dur- 
ing public-school time, the problem of reaching the chil- 
dren of the nation with religious instruction will be solved. 

What can be done under this plan is shown by a coun- 
try township in the state of Michigan. Two years ago 
there were three or four small Sunday schools in the 
township. ‘They were enrolling less than half the chil- 
dren, and the children were attending less than half 
the time. One of the pastors of the region, who loved 
children, determined to see what could be done to remedy 
matters. The neglected children of the township were 
a constant source of sorrow to him. He undertook to 
secure week-day religious instruction in connection with 
the public schools. At the end of two years such in- 
struction was being given in every one of the eight 
schools of the township. Practically all the children 
in the schools were taking the work, and their attendance 
and work were up to public-school standards. 


KatiE Nv&é Comes to SEATTLE 


Judge Dykeman was troubled. For months he had 
seen a constantly increasing stream of juvenile delin- 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 89 


quents brought before the courts of Seattle. He had 
noted the fact that most of the boys and girls who got 
into trouble and appeared before the juvenile courts came 
from homes which were defective in some way; from 
homes where the father was a drunkard or in the peni- 
tentiary, from homes where the father and mother had 
been separated by a divorce, from homes where one or 
both parents were dead. The good judge loved children, 
and his soul was troubled because the courts seemed so 
powerless to remedy the evils which were causing the 
children to go astray. He believed that what these 
erring children needed was the friendly oversight of some 
mature person who understood how to handle children 
and who could give the necessary time to the task of 
guiding them in the right way. “If I could only find 
the right kind of person to look after this matter,” said 
the judge to himself, “I believe most of these children 
could be saved from the lives of crime into which so 
many of them are drifting; but I have no idea where 
such a person could be found.” Then a thought came 
into the mind of the judge, and he said aloud, “I believe 
Forbes can find me such a person, if any one can.” 

So the judge called Dr. W. O. Forbes on the telephone 
and told him the situation, asking him whether he knew 
of a person who would be qualified and willing to under- 
take the task of looking after the delinquent children of 
Seattle. Dr. Forbes had been in charge of Sunday-school 
mission work in the northwestern states for many years. 
Asa result of the telephone call, the judge and Dr. Forbes 
held a conference, and asa result of the conference, Katie 
Nye was called to Seattle from one of the rural districts 
of the state to become the motherly guide of the many 
erring children in the city of Seattle. 

But who was Katie Nye? In order to answer this 
question, we must go back a number of years to a time 
when Dr. Forbes was traveling over the state of Wash- 
ington as a Sunday-school missionary. One day he had 
penetrated far into the backwoods settlements among 
the rugged hills which overlook the great gorge of the 
Columbia River. There was no church for miles around 
and most of the children of the scattered settlements 
had never seen a Sunday school, but Dr. Forbes had 


90 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPUEES 


come to see if he could start a school. Being an experi- 
enced missionarv he knew that the Sunday school could 
be established on a lasting basis, if he could awaken a 
real and deep religious interest among the people of the 
region. So he began with a series of revival meetings 
held in the evenings. 

From the little clearings, the settlers gathered in the 
log schoolhouse with their families, and Dr. Forbes 
preached and prayed and led them in song. After a few 
meetings had been held, Dr. Forbes gave an oppor- 
tunity for any who wished to accept Christ as Saviour 
and Lord to come forward and take him by the hand. 
Thirty-four persons accepted the invitation. Rough, 
strong farmers and rugged lumbermen were among the 
number. There were boys and girls among the converts, 
too. One of them was a little, timid girl who bore the 
name of Katie Nye. 

That simple meeting in the log schoolhouse was a 
great event in the life of Katie Nye. She became a 
faithful attendant at the Sunday school and at the church 
services which grew out of it. She was fired with an 
ambition to get an education and to be of service in 
the: world. It was a) hard fieht wor! the country sain 
for the country schools. could not teach her much and 
the city schools were far away. She persevered, how- 
ever, and while still little more than a girl she secured 
a position as a school-teacher. She soon attracted the at- 
tention of the highest officials in her county. They recog- 
nized in her a woman of unusual ability, and she was 
given a position of responsibility where she could have 
oversight of the children of the whole county. 

So it came to pass that when Judge Dykeman called 
Dr. Forbes that night, Dr. Forbes thought of Katie Nye, 
and after the matter had been talked over it was decided 
to ask her to come to Seattle. She proved to be the 
right person in the right place, and under her influence 
scores of boys and girls of that great city were rescued 
from the ways of evil and set in ways of righteousness. 


Tur Lesson PRAYER 


We ask thee, our Father in heaven, to give us a spirit 
of kindness, to show us how to live lives that are helpful. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 91 


Forgive us for being thoughtless and selfish. We ask in 
Jesus’ name. Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


“The Neglected Children of Rural America,” Somern- 
dike. Board of National Missions. 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 


HiPeINGOURSL EET ReBROTHERSGSAND: SISTERS “CO 
eu en bei DEW AY Ss OTe LE 


Gen. 4:9; John 1 :40-42 


The two passages of Scripture chosen as the basis of 
this lesson are in striking contrast. Cain answered the 
Ee icy witheas tudes “Am. | omy brothers keepers) 
The answer lays bare the fundamental sin of Cain. He 
had refused to be brotherly to Abel. His terrible crime 
sprang from a seemingly little sin, just a refusal to be 
kind and helpful to his brother. He probably started on 
the downward road by being cross with his brother, 
angry with him when there was no real cause for anger, 
careless as to whether his brother was happy or unhappy, 
comfortable or miserable. 

The sin of Cain is not uncommon in the world to-day. 
It does not always bear the terrible fruit it bore in Cain, 
but it is a deplorable and dangerous sin none the less. 
It is seen in every person who refuses to be interested 
in the welfare of others, who says by actions, if not by 
words. sm my brothers@keeper?” ~ Sometimes “it 
creeps into our homes, into the hearts of Intermediate 
boys and girls, and makes them cross and mean to their 
brothers and sisters. 

The second passage shows us a picture of another 
kind. Good, kind, slow-going Andrew met Jesus in the 
place where John was baptizing. Jesus took Andrew 
and another young man home with him. Andrew mar- 
veled at the wonderful wisdom and the gracious spirit 
of this Teacher from Nazareth. He was convinced that 


02 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


here was at last the great Deliverer for whom the Jews 
were longing and praying. Andrew hastened from that 
visit with Jesus to find, as quickly as he could, his brother 
Simon, saying to him, “We have found the Messiah.” 
Simon was probably younger than Andrew; at all events, 
he often acted as if he were the younger of ‘the two. 
The two were the best of friends, companions and part- 
ners in the fishing business, joint owners of a house in 
Capernaum. Andrew helped his brother to find the path- 
way of life which led to sublime character and world- 
wide usefulness. Happy is the lad who has an older 
brother like Andrew! 

Every Intermediate boy and every Intermediate girl 
can do for some younger person what Andrew did for 
Peter. If there are no little brothers or sistersmingthe 
family they can be found in the larger family where all 
are children of the Father in heaven. 


SomE Facts To Br DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


The saving of the country children for Christ will 
help to save the children of the cities. (See story about 
Katie Nye.) | 

Many of the Sunday-school missionaries are big 
brothers to hundreds of children in the out-of-the-way 
corners of our nation. 

If more grown people would be brothers and sisters 
to the children, the spiritual neglect of childhood in 
America would speedily be cured. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Show that John the Baptist and Jesus did not 
neglect the country people of their day. Why did they 
act as they did? 

2. Show that the cities depend upon the country eco- 
nomically and spiritually. 

3. Show that the spiritual neglect of childhood is 
America’s greatest peril. 

4. Describe the work of a Sunday-school missionary. 

5. Describe some new educational agencies which are 
being used to reach the neglected children of our nation. 


KINGDOM TASKS, FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 93 


6. What can Christian boys and girls do to help 
the neglected children of America? 


BIBLE VERSES 


oo, ee l/s ohne 2 LO sale Matt. 5 21-24 0 73-5. 
onenloel Wks cle bhess 64:9" otteb. 013 :ls0 1 Peter 
iho. Viarks3 358 


Topics 


1. How we can help our younger brothers and sisters 
in our homes. 

2. Ways in which the Intermediate society can help 
the Junior society. 

3. The character of Andrew the disciple. (Look up 
passages concerning him. Note that at the miraculous 
feeding of the multitudes, Andrew knew that there was 
a boy in the crowd who had some food with him and that 
the boy gave his lunch to Andrew.) ; 

4. The Daily Vacation Bible School. (Some pupil 
who has attended such a school may be asked to tell 
about it.) 

5. Judge Ben Lindsay and his work for the children 
of Denver. 


PROJECTS 


The Board of National Missions will put the class in 
touch with Sunday-school mission work. The full sup- 
port of a Sunday-school missionary might be undertaken 
by the church school, with the Intermediates taking 
the lead. If members of the class should undertake to 
bring younger children to Sunday school, or to the week- 
day classes, calling for them and seeing them safely home 
after school the work would be a project in keeping with 
the lesson. 


CHAPTER VII 


LEADING JEWISH PEOPLE LOVEE eSAavl Olen 
OF THE WORLD 


WEEK DAY SESSION 
GREATN ESSsOF LAE EW ISHaRAGEe 
Gen. 12:1-33 Rom. 1111-27 


We have been considering various tasks which lie 
before the Christians of America. Each task is so im- 
portant that it is hard to tell which is of the greatest 
importance. Perhaps no one of them can be said to be 
the most important of all. The saving of even one soul 
from sin and evil to goodness and peace and service is 
a task so great that its importance cannot be measured. 
Immeasurable things cannot be compared one with an- 
other. Among these tasks of immeasurable importance 
which await the devotion of American Christians is the 
winning of nearly four million American Jews to the 
Saviour of the world. 

The Chosen People. Away back in the beginning 
of history God told Abraham that in him and in his seed 
all the nations of the earth should be blessed. When 
Abraham was growing old and was childless so that it 
looked as though his race would die with him, God prom- 
ised that the descendants of Abraham should be like 
the sands of the seashore and like the stars of heaven in 
number. Both of these promises have been fulfilled and 
are being fulfilled in an ever-increasing measure. The 
Jews have been a blessing to all the world. They have 
given to mankind a knowledge of the one and only God. 
What greater blessing could any people bestow upon the 
nations of the earth? Centuries before the Gentile nations 
had found the true God, and while they were worshiping 
wood and stone, the Jews had found fellowship with 
Jehovah. God chose the Jews for a sublime task, the task 
of making known his existence and his nature to the 

94 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 95 


nations of the world. The Old Testament is the story 
of the struggles and labors through which the Jews 
passed in carrying out this God-given task. 

Great Men and Women of the Jewish Race. ‘The 
Jewish race is distinguished by the great men and women 
which it produced in the ancient world. Abraham, Moses, 
ijahyelsaiahy jeremiah, 1)zekiel® and: Amos, together 
with as many more, tower above the ancient world in 
moral grandeur. Associated with these great men of 
the Jews were great women. Back of many a great 
Hebrew was a great-souled mother. 

The Jewish race has not ceased to produce great men 
and great women. Three governors of states in our 
nation have been Jews. They have been members of the 
House of Representatives and of the Senate. They have 
found a place among the judges of the Supreme Court. 
Mendelssohn, the musician, was a Jew; so was Herschell, 
the astronomer. Rosa Bonheur, the painter, was born 
of Jewish parents. Lord Beaconsfield, the English states- 
man, was a Jew who bore in private life the name of 
Benjamin Disraeli. 

Kinsmen of Jesus. Above all, it is well for us to 
remember that Mary the mother of Jesus was a Jewess. 
The Jews of the world are therefore in a very real sense 
kinsmen of Jesus. It was among Jewish people that 
Jesus labored almost exclusively. His disciples were 
Jews. Those who were converted at Pentecost were Jews. 
Paul was a Jew. Christianity therefore had its origin 
among the Jewish people. ‘These facts ought to show 
Christians their indebtedness to this race which God 
chose as his instrument for giving to the world the light 
of a true religion. 

The Jews and Their Messiah. ‘That the Jewish people 
as a race rejected the Saviour, whose coming their great 
prophets foretold, and crucified him as a malefactor is 
thevereatest tragedy of history. It is well to remember 
that while, as a race and as a nation, the Jews rejected 
Jesus, they did not all reject°him. If they had all re- 
~ jected him the Christian Church would not have been 
established, at least in the way that it was established. 
The great refusal of the Jewish people was due chiefly 
to their leaders. Upon the-.scribes and Pharisees and 


96 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


the priests must rest the awful guilt, to a very great 
extent. If these leaders had been true shepherds of 
Israel they would have welcomed the world’s Redeemer. 

A Miracle of History. The preservation of the Jewish 
race through so many years has been called a miracle 
of history. Races like the Philistines and the Hittites 
with whom the Hebrews came into conflict three thou- 
sand years ago have vanished. Even the world-ruling 
Romans have passed into oblivion. The Jewish race 
has persisted through centuries of hardships and afflic- 
tion. They have been scattered over the face of the 
earth. World empires like Assyria and Rome have delib- 
erately planned to destroy.the Jewish race, but their 
well-planned programs have failed, although pushed with 
relentless vigor. ‘The Jewish race outlived the empires 
which sought to destroy it. 

There are at present some 15,500,000 Jews in the world, 
more than have ever been living at any one time before. 
They are, for the most part, a race so strong and vigorous 
that they are bound to increase and prosper if given any 
chance. 


SAUL’S PROBLEM 


Saul Dobrinsky came to America from Russia when he 
was twelve years of age. He and his parents fled to 
our country from dreadful persecutions which were being 
waged against the Russian Jews. Of course Saul had 
avery poor opinion of the Christian religion, for he knew 
that the Russian persecutors of his race claimed to be 
Christians. He and his parents believed that the Chris- 
tians of America were much like those of Russia but 
that they were restrained by the power of the American 
Government. 

Saul had attended a Jewish school where he learned 
a good deal about the law of Moses and the teachings of 
the ancient rabbis. When he was thirteen years old he 
was admitted to full membership in the Jewish congre- 
gation and became “a son of the law.” His schooling 
had only helped to confirm him in his opinion concern- 
ing Christianity. He thought of the Christians as haters 
of the chosen people and as having no true knowledge of 
Jehovah, the one true God. Saul might have lived all 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES o7 


his life without changing his opinion concerning the 
Christians, just as thousands of Jews live in our coun- 
try; but something happened which gave him a glimpse 
of what the Christian religion really is. 

One day Saul was knocked down by a heavy truck on 
the streets of New York. When he regained conscious- 
ness he was lying in a little white bed which was one of 
the many beds in a long row in a beautiful, sunny room. 
Saul was not long in noting the fact that the nurses and 
physicians were not of his own people. ‘They were evi- 
dently not Jews, but Americans. Yet they treated him 
with the most tender kindness. He wondered whether 
they could be Christians and thought that if they were 
they must be ignorant of the fact that he was a Hebrew. 
He soon found out that not only were the nurses and 
physicians Christians but also the hospital was a Chris- 
tian institution. He learned that there were other Jews 
in the hospital. He talked with them and was amazed 
to hear them tell of the loving care which they had 
received. When Saul left the hospital he knew that the 
Christian religion was as different from what he had 
supposed it to be in his Russian home as day is different 
from night. 

Some years passed by and Saul married a Jewish girl, 
and they set up their home in Brooklyn. Saul was busy 
with his labors, but he sometimes thought of his hos- 
pital experiences, and his soul felt hungry for the Chris- 
tian light and fellowship which he had known for a little 
while. One day he meta fellow Hebrew who had become 
a follower of Jesus. Saul had never met a Christian 
Jew before, and the two had many long conversations 
on religious matters. From this Christian Jew Saul 
bought a New Testament and began to read it. ‘The 
character of Jesus thrilled and amazed him. He saw 
that the Jesus of the New Testament was not the Jesus 
concerning whom the Jewish rabbis had taught. 

One day Saul slipped into a Christian church. The 
simplicity of the service and its deep spirituality seemed 
to satisfy the longings of his soul. He became acquainted 
with the pastor and finally declared himself a follower 
of Jesus. Saul found it hard to tell his wife and children 
that he had become a Christian. He knew that it would 


98 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


be difficult for them to understand his conversion. He 
knew that the step he had taken might result in great 
hardships for himself and for his family, since he would 
be disowned by his own people and his business would 
be ruined. 

One evening in a conversation with his wife he ven- 
tured to suggest that not all Christians were bad people 
and that Jews might well learn something of the Chris- 
tian religion. His wife was so shocked that she spent a 
sleepless night after hearing these words. She had been 
brought up a strict observer of the law, and for a Jew 
to become a Christian meant something unspeakably 
awful to her. 

Saul was very much troubled over the matter. He 
slipped away from home once in a while to attend a 
Christian meeting. He made no further attempts to 
speak with his family about the Christian religion. At 
last he thought of a plan which he believed might lead 
his wife to take a different view of Christianity. He 
found a small apartment in a neighborhood where there 
were many American people and a little Christian church 
near at hand. He believed that his wife and children 
would thus come to know Christian people and through 
them would learn the real character of the Christian 
religion. 

Poor Saul! He had not yet learned that some of the 
professed Christians of America know little of the spirit 
of their Lord. Occasionally he was saddened to over- 
hear remarks about “those Jews” who had moved into 
the community. His wife found no friends among the 
Americans and she was desperately homesick for the 
fellowship of her own people on the Fast Side. 

One day Saul’s young son, who was as lonely as his 
mother, went across the street to join a group of boys 
at play. The mother of one of these boys saw the Jewish 
lad join the group, and she opened the door of her house 
and came out on the front porch. In a voice which 
reached the ears of the Jewish mother across the way 
she cried out: “You dirty little Sheeny, what are you 
doing over here? You go back to your own side of the 
street and stay there!” 

Saul is living among the people of his own race now. 


KINGDOMATASK SF ORAYOUNG DISCIPLES 99 


His heart is still true to the Saviour of the world, but his | 
problems are still unsolved. He does not know how he 
is going to teach his wife and children that the religion 
of Jesus is a religion of love and brotherhood. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “The Local Church and Its Jewish Neighbors,” 
by J: 8. Conning. 

Peeeere Chistian Ministry tothe Jews, by J.5. -Gon- 
ning. 

3. “Facts Every Presbyterian Should Know About 
Jewish Evangelization,” by J. S. Conning. 

4. “Our Jewish Neighbors’—Quarterly magazine, 
published by Board of National Missions. 

Dee tidy of thes) ews) in Greater (New, York, by 
R. W. Anthony. Board of National Missions. 


SUNDAY SESSION 
JEWISH EVANGELIZATION IN AMERICA 
Matt. 10:5-8; Luke 24 :44-49 


In these lessons we have had occasion to note re- 
peatedly the hand of Providence in American history. 
It seems that the great Father is here making a final 
effort to solve some of the problems of his earthly chil- 
dren. He has, brought’ together many races thatr they 
may come to know and love one another here, that they 
may learn to live together as brethren and to help one 
another to achieve the high destiny of the “sons of God.” 
For two thousand years the Jewish race has rejected the 
Messiah. The.sin of this rejection does not rest on them 
alone. It rests also on professed Christians who have 
persecuted the Jews and given them an utterly wrong 
conception concerning the religion of Jesus. So deep- 
seated is the hatred existing between old-world Jews 
and old-world Christians that the evangelization of the 
Jews in the old world seems humanly impossible. In 


100. KINGDOM TASKS FORVYOUNG DISCTE RES 


America conditions are very different. Christian boys 
and girls of America are face to face with the greatest 
opportunity to win the Jews for Christ that the world 
has ever seen. By the time they have assumed the tasks 
of life this great cause may be undertaken with pros- 
pects of large and immediate success. God has waited 
two thousand years for a body of Christians who shall 
be like their Lord in word and in deed. May the boys 
and girls of our Christian land become coworkers with 
the Infinite in this great task. 

The Breaking Up of Jewish Solidarity. The persecu- 
tions which the Jews have suffered in other lands have 
served to preserve the Jewish race and the Jewish re- 
ligion. In suffering for the faith of their forefathers they 
have developed unwaveringly loyalty to their religion, 
which forbids them to mingle with other peoples. Shut 
out from many of the social gatherings of the Gentiles, 
the Jews developed their own social agencies, created 
their own schools, maintained their own home life. 

In America all this is changed. ‘he Jewish children 
are in the public schools; the old-fashioned home life of 
the Jew is disappearing. The racial solidarity which old- 
world conditions created and perpetuated is giving way. 
The American Jews are forsaking the synagogue. Per- 
haps eighty per cent of them care little about the Hebrew 
religion. Many are drifting into Christian Science, The- 
osophy, and other such beliefs. Still more are be- 
coming atheist, disbelievers in God and a future life. 
The breaking up of Jewish solidarity is opening a wide 
door of opportunity to the Christians of America. The 
next few years is a time of vast importance. 

The Growing Power of the American Jew. Self-in- 
terest, if no higher motive can be aroused, ought to lead 
American Christians to take seriously the task of win- 
ning the Jews for Christ. These people are becoming 
a potent factor in American life. They are acquiring 
vast financial interests which influence our civilization 
throughout its whole extent. They are said to have prac- 
tically complete control of the theaters of America. When 
we think of the millions of children who throng our 
moving-picture shows, and remember the potent educa- 
tional influences of such entertainment, we see how im- 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 101 


portant it is that the right kind of people be in control 
of such enterprises. The Jews are said to control many 
of our daily papers in the important cities of the nation. 
Millions of people get their ideas and their ideals from 
the daily press. How important, then, that the daily 
papers have a high moral tone! 

The Menace of the Atheistic Jew. We have seen how 
capable the Jewish people are. What will be the result 
if these people lose all belief in God and the future life? 
What if they control the press of our nation and the 
moving-picture enterprises, carrying on their business 
without any thought of Christian ideals? What if they 
say, “We are in this business to make money, and for 
nothing else’? What if they become sellers of opium 
and cocaine, and in other ways contribute to the ruin 
of American life? Even a boy or a girl of Intermediate 
age can answer these questions. ‘They can see that 
it would be possible for some millions of Jews without 
a God to wreck the best elements of American life, in 
spite of all that the lawmakers could do to prevent it. 

Two Ways of Trying to Solve the Problem. ‘There are 
two ways in which Americans are trying to solve the 
problem suggested in the preceding paragraph. One 
method is that of repression. People who follow this 
method think the Jews should be kept out of the coun- 
try. They would shut the Jews out of places of respon- 
sibility and power. The objections to this method of 
meeting the problem are many and serious. It comes too 
late, for one thing, to exclude some millions of Jews 
who are already here and who are increasing rapidly. 
They are already in control of large sections of the press 
and of the moving-picture industry. They must, of 
course, be made to obey the laws, just as other American 
citizens obey them, but a far-reaching discrimination 
against any one group of people in our land is bound to 
create bitterness and mistrust. The Jews have been 
suppressed by such methods in old-world countries, but 
this is not the American way, and may it never become 
such. In Russia, when the Jews grew too numerous in 
spite of persecution and poverty, they were kept down by 
discriminations and oppression and horrible massacres. 
Shall we adopt the Russian method? | 


102, KINGDOM, PASKS FOR YOUNG DISCHE EES 


There is a better way and it is the way of Jesus. It is 
the American way, too, for we are dedicated as a nation 
to the proposition “that all men are created free and 
equal. ‘his second way is the way of justice and brother- 
hood. It consists, indeed, in holding both Jew and Gen- 
tile to a strict obedience to law. It goes deeper, how- 
ever, for it consists in bringing to Jew and Gentile alike 
the fundamental principles of righteousness, service, and 
brotherhood which were taught by Jesus of Nazareth 
and on which a lasting structure of national greatness 
must be erected. Jewish evangelism will solve the 
Jewish problem more quickly and more satisfactorily 
than anything else will ever solve it. 

One of Our First Missionary Tasks. When Jesus sent 
out his disciples he bade them “go rather to the lost 
sheep of the house of Israel.” |) Later as he wacgraeie 
leave of them he again charged them to begin their work 
among their own countrymen at Jerusalem. Did Jesus 
intend that his followers should offer the gospel only 
tc the Jews and if ‘they, forthe time being) rejectedme 
that they should not offer it to the Jews any more? We 
do not believe that this was his meaning. Paul did not 
conduct himself as if he thought so. It was his custom, 
on entering a new field, to give the Jews the first chance 
to hear the gospel and to accept Jesus as the Messiah. 
Jesus evidently meant that his disciples should make the 
preaching to Jews a permanent part of their labors. 
Indeed, Peter 1s said to have given most of Hisuiiiemo 
such work. 

It would seem, therefore, that American Christians 
have no more important missionary task than the win- 
ning of the Jews to Christ. This is especially true of 
the Jews who have come to dwell in our midst. Many 
American Christians have Jews for their next-door neigh- 
bors. Many American churches are in the midst of 
communities which are largely Jewish. It is not hard to 
see where the missionary work of such churches begins. 


Ustne Our Homes For THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
Gopn’s KINGDOM 


In October, 1920, hundreds of people gathered from 
all parts of the world to attend the World’s Sunday 


KINGDOM TASKS HOR*YOUNG DISCIPLES 4103 


School Convention in Tokio, Japan. A temporary taber- 
nacle had been constructed in which to hold the sessions 
of the convention. A large number of people had gath- 
ered in this tabernacle for a conference just before the 
himepccumOtethenpeoinningy ormine convention. « Inuthe 
midst of the conference the building caught fire. As 
the building had been constructed for only temporary 
use and was very inflammable, the flames were soon 
beyond control. At the alarm a wave of excitement swept 
over the hundreds of people within the building. A rush 
for the exits had already begun and a dreadful panic 
seemed inevitable, when a young woman came forward 
on the platform. She spoke to the people in a ‘calm, 
clear voice, telling them where to find the exits and how 
to reach them in safety. She spoke in English and then 
in Japanese. Her words quickly calmed the multitude 
so that every person escaped from the burning build- 
ing to safety. If it had not been for this young woman 
there might have been such a disaster as that which 
occurred at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, in which 
nearly five hundred people perished. Those who in- 
quired as to who the heroic young woman was, were told 
that she was an American missionary from Shanghai, 
China. 

Perhaps the pupils who study this lesson will ask 
at this point, “What has this story to do with the subject 
we are studying, and what has it to do with using our 
homes for the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth?” 
In order to see the application of the story we will have 
to go back, some forty or fifty years, before the meeting 
of the World’s Sunday School Association in ‘Tokio. 

A good many years ago there came to New York City 
aapoor family: ot Russian Jews, «hey ‘were justiiike 
thousands of other Jewish immigrants who were arriving 
in large numbers at that time and no one paid much 
attention to them. The family bore the rather awkward 
name of Schereschewsky. In the family was a young 
ameobrapout twenty-turee. py eAcuthey) were very poor 
all the members of the Schereschewsky family had to 
find some work to do. The young man, we have men- 
tioned, found employment with an American family. 
Fortunately for him these Americans were sincere and 


104 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


intelligent Christians. They took the Jewish youth into 
their home and found him to be a faithful and lovable 
character. 

The young Jew came to know and love the Saviour 
who was so well known and so much beloved by his 
American friends. The beautiful home life of his em- 
ployer had shown him the truth of the Christian re- 
ligion. He became a Christian and felt himself called 
to be a minister of the Christian Church. A few years 
later he began to study at the Western Theological Sem- 
inary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and later at the Gen- 
eral Theological Seminary. He became a minister of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church and was so able and 
consecrated that he was chosen to be one of the bishops 
of that denomination. His fellow churchmen finally 
sent him to Shanghai, China, that he might have the 
oversight of all their mission work in that region. This 
missionary bishop of Jewish parentage had a little daugh- 
ter, Carolyn, who walked in the footsteps of her father. 
She became a missionary and it was she who appeared 
on the platform of the burning tabernacle at Tokio and 
by her heroic presence of mind averted a great disaster. 


Tuer LEsson PRAYER 


© God our Father we ask thee to give us a spirit of 
Christlike friendliness with people who differ from us 
in color, or nationality. Help us to see what a privilege 
it is to work with such people and for them. We would 
understand clearly the problems of our nation which 
some day we must help to solve. Save our country from 
the mistakes which have caused hatreds and shameful 
deeds of violence in other lands. Grant that in our 
own nation the chosen people may be led to know the 
truth concerning the religion of Jesus, thy Son. Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL I,ESSON MATERIALS 


1 “A Call to Prayer for Jewish Evangelization.” 
Board of National Missions (pamphlet). 

2. “A Program of Jewish Evangelization,’ John S. 
Conning. Board of National Missions, 


KINGDOM Deo sur One U NIG DISCIPL ERS 105 
EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 
WLINHS SES OR JHSUS CHRIST 
Acts 1:6-8 


Jesus told his disciples that they were his witnesses. 
They were to bear testimony concerning him to all the 
world. They were to tell people what Jesus had said 
and what he had done. ‘They were to bear witness not 
only by word of mouth, but also in other ways. They 
must show by their lives that what Jesus had said was 
true, and that he was indeed the Saviour of the world. 

These two kinds of witnessing for Jesus have been 
used through all the history of the Christian Church to 
bring people to Christ. Sometimes Christians have for- 
gotten about the second kind of witnessing and then the 
cause of Christ has suffered loss, for if the teaching is 
to be effective the followers of Jesus must try to show 
by their own lives and their own conduct that what they 
teach is true. 

This is a principle which we must not forget in our 
missionary efforts. One of the greatest hindrances to 
mission work in foreign lands consists in the rumors 
which reach heathen peoples concerning the moral short- 
Ganunestou Ghristianvlandss wilt hassbeen) saidi that the 
greatest hindrance to Christianity is Christendom. Some 
years ago the Japanese people seemed ready to turn to 
Christianity in large numbers. About that time, Japanese 
travelers began to return to their own country from 
Europe and America. These returning Japanese told 
their countrymen that there were nearly two hundred 
different kinds of Christians in America and that they 
did not seem to love one another very much. They said 
that the American Christians were not even holding their 
own children for the Christian faith, that the children 
of many Christian families were growing up without be- 
coming Church members. They told of the slums and 
saloons of America. It is said that these reports dis- 
couraged scores of Japanese who were ready to accept 
the new faith. 

All Christian boys and Christian girls should re- 


106 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


member that they are constantly bearing testimony for 
Jesus, testifying by what they do as well as by what 
they say. Their attitude toward young Jewish people 
will be a testimony for Jesus. By their conduct they 
can bear true testimony concerning him. who is the 
Saviour of the world. By their conduct they can also 
bear false testimony concerning their Lord. 


SomE Facts to Br DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


One hundred and fifty American cities have each more 
than 1000 Jews in their population. 

There are more than sixty thousand Jewish farmers in 
America. 

Most of the American Jews live in communities where 
there are Christian churches near at hand. 

The Christian homes of Americans are among the best 
agencies for Jewish evangelization. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Name some great men of the Jewish race. 

2. Why do we believe the Jews will become 
Christians? 

3. Why is there a special opportunity in America to 
win the Jews for Christ? 

4. Show that the Jew who does not believe in God 
may become a menace to America. 

5. Describe two methods of solving, or trying to solve, 
the Jewish problem. 

6. Why is the evangelization of the Jews one of our 
first missionary responsibilities? 


BisLE VERSES 


Prov "14:3, 6 25s John l:7 7321 AE epee) oon somes 
14:17 3720 :24 3°2622; I John’ 4:14 75:9, 


‘Topics 


1. Why some Americans are prejudiced against the 
Jews. 

2. What the attitude of an American Christian should 
be toward his Jewish neighbors. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES © 107 


3. The Zionist movement. (Find out from some en- 
cyclopedia what this movement is and its present status.) 

4. Great Jewish prophets. (Several members of the 
class may each choose one prophet and give a report of 
his life.) 

5. Great military leaders among the Hebrews. 
(Joshua, David, Judas Maccabezeus.) 

6. Great writers among the Hebrews. (David, Paul, 
John the apostle.) 

7. Why the conversion of the Jews to Christianity 
would be especially helpful in the establishing of God’s 
Kingdom on earth. 


PROJECTS 


1. Try doing kind things for Jewish people that you 
know wherever you have opportunity. You will be 
repulsed sometimes, but more often you will find grati- 
tude and new friends. The spirit of Christ can be 
effectively revealed in very simple acts of kindness, and 
the Jew will not fail to be attracted by that spirit. 

2. The Board of National Missions is devoting spe- 
cial attention to the work of winning Jewish people for 
Christ. You can assist that work, first, by informing 
yourself about it. The quarterly magazine, Our Jewish 
Neighbors, will be sent to your church or to you per- 
sonally for fifty cents a year. This magazine will give 
you details about the progress of the work all over “the 
country. Write to the Board of National Missions, 156 
Fifth Avenue, New York City, for it, or ask for other, 
free material on this subject. In this way you can learn 
about all the things you can help your church to do for 
the Jews in your neighborhood. 

3. You can help the Board maintain the Jewish mis- 
sions which it has in Brooklyn, Newark, Baltimore, and 
Chicago. Two of the missions need new buildings very 
badly, and new buildings require money. ‘Those who 
can send contributions for these objects will have an 
important share in the work. 


GHAPTER VIII 


SEAN DING*BY"OUR BROUVEHERS IN “tebe 
LAND OF MIDNIGHT SUN 


WEEK DAY SESSION 


URL A tle CO) Nga pea 
Rom3)15222-29 


In the passage of Scripture chosen for this lesson, Paul 
speaks twice of his purpose to visit Spain. We do not 
know whether Paul lived to carry out these plans or 
whether he suffered martyrdom with these dreams un- 
fulfilled. He may have carried out his plans, for one of 
the Early Church fathers states that Paul went “to the 
bounds of the West” before he died. In any case these 
verses contain interesting facts concerning the great 
apostle. Spain was then a very remote country lying 
on the horizon of the known world. It was the western 
frontier of the vast Roman Empire. Paul had the heroic 
spirit of a frontier missionary. He had preached in the 
greatest cities of the empire, in Jerusalem, Athens, and 
Ephesus. He had penetrated into little-known regions 
in Asia Minor, but his soul was not satisfied. He longed 
to carry the gospel of Jesus to “the uttermost part of 
the earth.” He had dedicated his life to pioneering for 
the religion of Jesus. It was his rule not to build on 
foundations which others had laid, but to lay new foun- 
dations for the Christian Church in regions where the 
religion of Jesus was unknown. 

Something of Paul’s heroic spirit marked the pioneer 
preachers of our own nation. They kept march with 
the settlements of America from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific. ‘They planted the Church in the frontier settle- 
ments. Our nation owes them a debt it can never pay, 
for they helped to make America great. Without their 
aid, religion could not have been maintained on the fron- 
tiers and our nation would have fallen far short of its 
God-given goals. 

108 


RINGDOMe TASK oer ORRYOUNG DISCIPLES ."109 


Paul’s heroic spirit has also marked the foreign mis- 
sionaries of the Church. They, like the great apostle, 
have dreamed of carrying the gospel of Jesus to the outer 
boundaries of the world. They have preached of Jesus 
in the heart of Africa, in the jungle towns of India, in 
the snow huts of the Eskimos, and on the lonely coral 
islands in the vast Pacific Ocean. 

In this lesson we are to study pioneer religious work 
in a part of our country which has been called “Our Last 
Frontier.”’ Most of the states of our country have been 
quite fully explored and nearly all portions suitable for 
agriculture, grazing, or mining, have been settled. Very 
few states, therefore, have any true frontier territory 
remaining. In Alaska, however, conditions are different. 
Hogtiatavectete: SitOLyatnere arenlareen tracts. 01. country 
yet unexplored. The whole territory is one great fron- 
tier, , Pioneer conditions are universal-in Alaska. A 
study of Alaska and its heroic missionaries will be of 
interest not only because of what Alaska is in itself, but 
because the story of Alaska and its frontier missionaries 
is an illustration of what has been taking place in our 
country for some centuries as civilization spread across 
rhescontunenti 7 | 

A Wonderful Land. Alaska is an interesting and a 
wonderful country. It contains vast forests as yet un- 
touched by the ax of the lumberman. It has within its 
boundaries the highest mountains in North America. 
Some of these mountains are huge volcanoes which are 
constantly active. Mount Katmai a few years ago was 
rent by one of the most terrific explosions ever recorded, 
when the whole summit was torn away and a huge crater 
was left which has been called “The Valley of Ten Thou- 
sand Smokes,” because of the volcanic vapors which con- 
tinually arise from it. Alaska has some of the greatest 
rivers in the world. In its wilderness wander herds of 
caribou. Its moose are larger than any others found 
in North America. Its mountains are rich in gold and 
silver. Coal of fine quality is found in some parts. 
Deep under its plains and mountains are lakes of oil 
which are just being discovered. Its glaciers are pic- 
turesque and sublime. 7 

Enough has been said to show that Alaska has a 


110 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


great future. Some day it will support a large popu- 
lation. Northern countries have always produced a cou- 
rageous and hardy type of people. In order that future 
Alaskans may be people of high ideals the civilization 
which is developing there must be reared on a founda- 
tion of Christian principles. Thus Alaska is a mission 
field of great importance. 

The People of Alaska. About half of the people of 
Alaska are white. They are the pioneers who have gone 
to this far northwestern land in search of gold or adven- 
ture, or they are the descendants of such pioneers. The 
rest of the people are natives, but they are not all of the 
same race. Alaska is the only part of our country which 
was inhabited by native races other than Indians. Much 
of the western and northern coast of Alaska is inhabited 
by Eskimos who are members of the yellow race, first 
cousins of the Chinese and Japanese. Southwestern 
Alaska is inhabited by Aleuts; southeastern Alaska by 
Haidas, Tsimshians, and Thlinkits. All these people, if 
they are Indians at all, differ very much from the other In- 
dians of North America. In the interior, tribes of true 
American Indians are found. This mixed population is all 
in need of the spiritual help which the Churches of 
our nation can give, if they will. The white pioneers 
need the help of the Church just as pioneers have always 
needed it. The Eskimos, Indians, and others are only 
one generation removed from complete paganism. 

A Trail Which Is Dark with Shame and Guilt. In all 
America, the coming of the white man has meant dis- 
asters as well as possible opportunities for the native 
peoples. The white man’s sins have too often cursed those 
with whom he has come in contact. The white man’s 
diseases have swept through native communities like a 
forest fire through a pine woods, leaving death and deso- 
lation on every hand. The white man has seized the 
lands of the native, destroyed the game on which he 
lived, and pushed him farther and farther into the dark 
lands from which there is no return. 

This sad story has been repeated in Alaska in even a 
worse way than elsewhere in our country. Wherever the 
early white settlers went, they left a blight upon the na- 
tives. So grievous were the ills the white men heaped 


PG UO Mal ais ORY OUNG I DISCIPEH Si pit 


upon their Indian and Eskimo brothers, that if the Church 
had not come to the rescue, the native people of Alaska 
would have been doomed to a speedy extinction. Beside 
this trail of shame and selfishness and guilt runs another 
trail, the footprints of a heroic band of men and women 
who went to Alaska, not to hurt and to destroy, but 
to heal and to save. The deeds of these heroes and 
heroines of the cross are now to receive our attention. 


WHat Gop Has WroucGHut IN SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA 


In 1877 Dr. Lindsley, pastor of the First Presbyterian 
Church in Portland, Oregon, was called of God to send 
spiritual help to the Alaskan wilderness. He did not be- 
come a missionary himself, but he caused his congrega- 
tion to become so interested in the spiritual welfare of 
the Alaskans that they sent a missionary to the terri- 
tory. The name of this first missionary to Alaska was 
J. C. Mallory, Jr. Mr. Mallory returned within a year 
and told of the appalling need in the northland. He 
reported that Fort Wrangell was the worst place in all 
Alaska. It had been occupied for some years by soldiers 
and the natives had been totally demoralized. They had 
adopted all the sins of the white men and had abandoned 
none of the superstitions of their own paganism. Drunk- 
enness abounded; many of the natives were held as slaves 
by the tribes which had captured them in tribal wars; 
murders were an everyday occurrence. There was no 
civil government, no officers of the law, no courts. Crimes 
went unpunished; no life was safe; property was looked 
upon as belonging to whoever could seize and hold it. 
Contagious diseases were ravaging the native people in 
their miserable huts and there were no physicians to 
relieve the sufferings of the stricken people. There 
were no schools for the children except the school of 
degradation and vice which the awful conditions of the 
community spread about them. 

When these conditions were reported in Portland a 
refined Christian woman was the first to say, “I will go 
to Fort Wrangell.” People said that it would not do 
to send a woman to such a place, but she insisted on 
going and she made Fort Wrangell her home, when she 


112) KINGDOM ‘TASKS FOR: YOUNG DISCIPUES 


was the only white woman in the region and often the 
only Christian there. Soon, however, other missionaries 
arrived, among them John G. Brady, who afterward 
became governor of Alaska, and Sheldon Jackson, whose 
devotion to the cause of Christ in that territory of the 
north has made his name known throughout the whole 
nation. 

‘hese missionaries threw themselves into their great 
task with unsparing devotion. ‘They built schools and 
hospitals. They learned the language of the natives and 
preached Christ to them. ‘They taught them how to work, 
as well as how to read. ‘These heroic missionaries were 
fighters as well as workers, for they threw themselves 
aaginst the organized forces of wickendess which were 
exploiting the natives for gold. ‘They carried the fight 
to the halls of Congress at Washington and little by 
little they drove ‘the enenty betore! them: 

Any person visiting southeastern Alaska to-day may 
well ask, “What»hath God wrought?’ Drunkenness 
and debauchery have practically ceased. ‘Three fourths 
of the natives are respectable, hard-working Christians, 
members of the native churches. The old pagan religions 
are dead. The children are in school. Slavery was given 
up long ago, and tribal wars have ceased. The young 
people talk English and read and write in that lan- 
euage. An organization bearing the name of “The Native 
Brotherhood” has been formed. It consists of native 
Alaskans and they are banded together in order to pro- 
mote the physical, moral, and spiritual welfare of the 
natives. 

Thirty years ago the natives of southeastern Alaska 
were adying race. They had been smitten with the white 
man’s diseases and the white man’s rum. Villages were 
passing into extinction as the inhabitants died. Every 
year more people died than were born. Now all this has 
been changed. The natives of southeastern Alaska have 
been saved from extinction. They are now a living race, 
increasing steadily in numbers, climbing higher in all 
that makes for a lasting civilization. The white people 
who trod the trail of shame and sin across the Alaskan 
wilderness were a great host compared with the com- 
pany that walked the trail of brotherliness and healing, 


RINGDOM  PASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 7113 


but the little band have had with them One who is mighty 
in the tearing down of the strongholds of sin and they are 
conquering, 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “Unfinished Business,’ Fred Eastman. Chapter V. 

2. “The Point Barrow Mission.” Board of National 
Missions (pamphlet). 

3. “The Story of Angoon.” 

4, “Alaska the Land of the Totem.” Board of Na- 
tional Missions (paper covers). 

5. “Sheldon Jackson School.” Board of National Mis- 
sions (picture leaflet). 


SUNDAY SESSION 
THE NEW ALASKA 
Isa. 9:1-7; Matt. 4:12-17 


The first passage of Scripture which we are to study 
was written by one of the great prophets. It was written 
in a time of wars and turmoils. The Hebrew nation 
had been divided in the time of Rehoboam into the King- 
dom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel. The former 
occupied the highlands in the southern part of Palestine, 
the latter held the more fertile regions of the north. 
There had been wars between the two portions of the 
dismembered nation and now the king of Israel had made 
a league with Syria and the armies of the two nations 
were marching against the kingdom of Judah. 

With clear vision the prophet foresaw what the result 
would be. Far off in the Euphrates valley a mighty 
world empire had arisen. It had pushed steadily west- 
ward and was now at the borders of Syria and Israel. 
Isaiah foresaw that this great Assyrian monarchy would 
soon sweep farther west overthrowing Syria, the King- 
dom of Israel, and finally the Kingdom of Judah. “Now, 
therefore,” said he, “behold, the Lord bringeth up upon 
them the waters of the River, strong and many, even the 


114. KINGDOM TASKS FOR) YOUN G *DISGIERES 


king of Assyria and all his glory: and it shall come up 
over all its channels, and go over all its banks; and it shall 
sweep onward into Judah; it shall overflow and pass 
LHYOUSTI Ml santo melo 

But the inspired vision of the great prophet could pierce 
even beyond the impending Assyrian invasion. He fore- 
saw a time when there should be no gloom in the regions 
of Galilee, but the people should see a great light and 
should rejoice as in a time of harvest. When Jesus 
came into Galilee preaching and healing, his disciples 
saw in his ministry a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. 
They recognized in Jesus the Person whom Isaiah had 
called, “Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting 
Father, Prince of Peace.” 

There is a sense in which Isaiah’s prophecy is still 
being fulfilled. Wherever Jesus becomes known and 
wherever people accept him as King, there a great light 
breaks forth and the rod of the oppressor is broken as in 
the day of Midian. The prophecy is being fulfilled in 
Alaska to-day as the teachings of Jesus find their way into 
the darkened minds of Eskimos, Indians, and white 
pioneers in that land of a midnight sun. Under the in- 
fluence of Jesus the wrongs which the white man have 
heaped upon their fellow men in Alaska are being re- 
moved, and the people, who were for a time in darkness, 
are coming into the light with rejoicing. 

The Mission Boats of Alaska. Much of the coast terri- 
tory of Alaska is now being reached by missionaries who 
travel from port to port in motor boats which have been 
bought and dedicated to this work. In this way the 
missionaries ascend some of the great rivers for hun- 
dreds of miles and take the gospel message to villages 
and mining camps which could not otherwise be reached. 
That there is still much to do is shown by the fact that 
only last year a large tribe of Indians was discovered 
in the interior of Alaska. No one had known of their 
existence until a missionary party stumbled upon them. 

Dogs and Sleds. In the interior of Alaska there are 
vast tracts of open country known as tundra lands. These 
regions are like endless swamps in summer, but in win- 
ter they can be traversed by means of sledges drawn 
by dogs. Many of the missionaries travel thousands of 


KINGDOM * TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES "115 


miles in this way every year. The people of Alaska have 
come to think of the missionaries as the most hardy 
and adventurous pioneers of all the North. People of 
the United States were surprised a few years ago to 
hear that a missionary had succeeded in reaching the 
summit of Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North 
America; an undertaking which had baffled some of the 
greatest mountain climbers of Europe and America. The 
people of Alaska, however, thought it a perfectly natural 
thing that a missionary preacher should be first to scale 
the great peak. 

Sheldon Jackson and the Reindeer. The part that the 
missionaries have had in creating the new Alaska is 
shown by the story of Sheldon Jackson and the rein- 
deer. he missionaries have not only brought the natives 
the gospel, but have actually saved them from extinction - 
through starvation. As soon as the white people began 
to reach Alaska in considerable numbers the game began 
to decrease. Hunters with high-power rifles went every- 
where and they, for the most part, killed all the game 
they could—whether they needed the animals for food 
or not. Soon the caribou were exterminated near the 
coast. The hunters shot the seals and walruses even 
when they had no way of reaching the carcasses of the 
animals they killed. They killed them for the degraded 
joy of killing. And so it came to pass after a few years 
that the natives began to find it increasingly hard to 
secure a living by hunting and fishing. The game had 
become so. scarce that they could not secure meat for 
food or skins for clothing. 

The United States Government had to come to the 
rescue. Supplies of canned meats and other such foods 
were sent to the starving Indians and Eskimos. This 
was a very poor way to solve the problem, however. 
The foods did not agree well with the natives and many 
became sick and died. The rest were fast falling into 
habits of idleness which tended to destroy their self- 
reliance and native skill. 

Sheldon Jackson knew that in the far northern coun- 
tries of Europe the people had great herds of reindeer 
and that these animals furnished these people with meat, 
milk, clothing, and a means of transportation. He knew 


116 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


that countries like Lapland were habitable because of 
the presence of the reindeer. So Dr. Jackson planned to 
bring the reindeer to Alaska to take the place of the 
caribou, deer, and seals which the white hunters had 
exterminated. There are some people so selfish that 
they cannot seem to understand an unselfish purpose 
in anybody else. It was so in Dr. Jackson’s case. There 
were enemies who fought his attempt to help the natives. 
They accused him of being a wild dreamer, of having 
in mind his own enrichment by getting his hands on 
money appropriated by Congress. They called him 
“Shell-Game Jackson.” 

Dr. Jackson was a man with a great soul. He had 
no time to resent personal insults. He kept right on 
with his plans until he had won the interest of Congress, 
until he had landed some hundreds of reindeer in Alaska 
and had brought over a number of Lapp reindeer herders 
to teach the natives of Alaska how to care for the deer. 
Alaska abounds in the same kinds of moss that the 
reindeer feed upon in northern Europe and they took 
readily to their new home. Many of the natives of 
Alaska now own large herds of these deer. They fur- 
nish the people with food and with clothing. They 
draw the sledges across the snow fields and thus help 
to make all parts of the country accessiblé. So many 
of these deer are now raised in Alaska that meat is 
being shipped from there to the coast cities of Wash- 
ington, Oregon and California. 

If it had not been for the work of Dr. Jackson, most 
of the natives of the territory would have died or would 
now be living on Government rations. The coming of 
the reindeer has given them something of even more 
importance than a means of making a living. It has 
made them once more independent of Government aid, 
enabling them to take their place in the commonwealth 
as self-supporting, self-respecting citizens. 


Tue Most NortHERN Mission STATION IN THE WoRLD 


In 1882 a Lieutenant Commander of the United States 
Navy told Dr. Sheldon Jackson about the deplorable 
condition of the Eskimos on the northern coast of Alaska. 


KINGDOM TASKS. FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 117 


Whaling vessels had reached these regions for a good 
many years and the diseases of the white race were ex- 
terminating the Eskimos. ‘There were no missionaries 
on the whole northern shore, no teachers, no physicians. 
Dr. Jackson tried to get some of the denominations in 
the United States to send aid to the Eskimos, but they 
were all short of funds. He was a worker who knew 
no such word as fail, however, and he finally found a 
good woman who agreed to pay the salary of a mis- 
sionary teacher for the north coast of Alaska. The next 
task was to find a volunteer for the work. Dr. Jackson 
found the kind of man he wished in Professor L. M. 
Stevenson. 

In 1890, Mr. Stevenson reached his field of labor at 
Point Barrow, the most northern tip of land in the 
North American continent. Point Barrow is a thou- 
sand miles north of Labrador, farther north than North 
Cape in Europe. Professor Stevenson reached Point 
Barrow in July. The arctic night came on. For nearly 
three months there was continuous darkness, the sun 
being too far below the horizon to send any ray of light 
into the frozen regions of the North. Polar bears prowled 
about the rude cabin of the pioneer missionary. Some- 
times Professor Stevenson went with the Eskimo 
hunters far out upon the frozen ocean in pursuit of seals. 
Underneath the ice of the arctic seas the seals are able 
to live all through the long northern winters. They 
enaw holes upward through the ice even when it is ten 
feet thick. They thus make little openings out to the 
air and come to these breathing places when necessary. 
By the aid of dogs the Eskimos find these breathing 
holes of the seals and spear the animals. 

Professor Stevenson was a very busy man and hardly 
noticed the gloom of the long arctic night. He gath- 
ered the children and taught them to read. He taught 
the older people about the Bible and the Christian re- 
ligion. He had some simple remedies and was often 
called upon to care for the sick. 

At last the arctic night began to draw toward an end. 
At the time which we call noon in our country, there 
would be a little glow of ght on the southern horizon 
as Professor Stevenson looked off across the snow fields. 


118) *RINGDOMAPASKS FORTYOUNG DISGrEME. 


Then the glow would die out again and the frozen land- 
scape would he cold under the starlight. Every day the 
southern glow grew a little brighter however, and one 
day the red disk of the sun just peeped above the horizon 
and then disappeared again. After that the sun appeared 
every day, and every day climbed higher in the southern 
sky and stayed longer above the horizon. 

Spring came on, with flocks of birds along the beach 
and flocks of wild geese high overhead on the way 
to their summer home in arctic islands still farther north. 
There came a day when the sun just touched the northern 
horizon at midnight. After that for a number of weeks 
the sun was above the horizon continually. The arctic 
day is as long as the arctic night. 

To-day there are two native churches at Point Barrow 
and practically all the natives are Church members. 
Sometimes the ice does not leave the coast at all during 
the summer and then the steamers cannot reach Point 
Barrow. ‘The missionaries have to get along as best 
they can with such supplies as they have on hand. 
sometimes fuel is so scarce that the people have no fires 
in the church even when the thermometer stands thirty 
degrees below zero. ‘They all go to church, neverthe- 
less. A few years ago, the lumber for a good hospital 
building was shipped from Seattle to Point Barrow. It 
finally reached its destination, and now the hospital stands 
on that far northern shore to welcome the sick and the 
injured from a vast region. There is no other hospital 
within a thousand miles of Point Barrow. 


THE Lesson PRAYER 

Our Father in heaven, we thank thee that thou hast 
called us to be coworkers with thee. The task is great 
and we cannot accomplish it without thy help. Give 
unto us a spirit of love and devotion like that of the 
missionaries about whom we have been studying. We 
ask thee to bless the work in Alaska. Grant that the 
people of that great country may become followers of 
thy Son. And’ that they may become ft 1nstrmimencs 
which thou canst use in the building of a world-wide 
kingdom of brotherhood and service. We ask in the name 
Of GSUs mA Let: 


PN OMe TAS Wes OR RY Olen GC DISCIPLES) Wy1l9 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


Peal lerAlaskanwbatninder.. Haris, 

2. Lantern Slides: “The Empire of the Northwest,” 
Young (91 slides); “The Transformation of the Alas- 
kans,’ Young (88 slides). 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 
Sp Ee PATe AS KAMAL ALD el Sat Om by, 
Vey, WARE 


The Hebrew prophets did not hesitate to speak plainly 
about the sins of their people and the consequences of 
those sins. Seldom, however, did they fail to sound 
a note of joy as they foretold the glorious times to come 
when the chosen people should turn away from their sins 
and live in obedience to Jehovah their God. ‘They were 
not pessimists, but optimists. They saw the dark side 
and spoke the truth about it, but they also saw the 
bright side of every cloud which was gathering about 
their nation. Their faith in God caused them to be con- 
fident that his plans could not fail. 

We have seen something of what Alaska was in the 
past, something of what it is to-day. It is a good thing 
for us to consider what Alaska may become under the 
blessing of the Christian religion, and to remember that 
we have an opportunity to help in the task of setting up 
God’s Kingdom there. Alaska has resources which will 
make it a great country industrially and commercially. 
Its forests, fisheries, mines, and agricultural lands insure 
material prosperity when once their development is fully 
begun. That these natural resources may be a blessing 
to all the people, they must be developed under Christian 
methods. 

The people of Alaska will become a great people, if 
they are given the Christian religion. They are of a 
hardy, northern race. The white pioneers had many 
grievous faults, but they were a picked group, strong of 
body and courageous of mind. Give them the religion 


120 KINGDOM*¢TASKS KOR-YOUNG DISCIPEES 


of Jesus and they will become a power in the world, a 
power which will make for universal righteousness. 


SomE Facts To BE DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


Send for leaflet, and have material retold vividly by 
one of the members. 

Look up in a history the story of the Alaska Purchase. 

Find in “World Almanac,” “Statesman’s Year Book,” 
or recent encyclopedia, reports on value of Alaskan 1in- 
dustries and estimated natural wealth. 

Find out about conditions of climate, showing wide 
differences which exist. 

The sort of communities which grew up in Alaska with 
the early gold rush and the opening up of the fisheries. 

The development of the great mineral resources of 
Alaska. 

The means of transportation in Alaska. 

The races of Alaska. 

Location of the Presbyterian missions. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Why is Alaska called “Our Last Frontier?’ 

2. Describe the natural wonders of Alaska. 

3. Name the different classes of people in Alaska. 

4. What changes have been made in southeastern 
Alaska as a result of missionary work? 

5. Tell something about the work of Sheldon Jackson. 

6. Tell of the work at Point Barrow. 


BIBLE VERSES 


Isa, 463 7-9. Proves 10168) 1329 iL Ot Ze 2S eee 
Malis 3seAech aA: bnklacuccSteZepnmone: 


Topics 


1. A prophet’s condemnation of greed and injustice. 
Hab. 2:9-17. (Show how the prophet’s words apply to 
the people who despoiled and degraded the Alaskan 
natives for gold.) 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 121 


2. A prophet’s vision of a golden age for the earth. 
Tsaveiiisl-9. 

3. The native brotherhood of Alaska. (Write to Hon. 
Wm. L. Paul, Juneau, Alaska, for information.) 

4. Wonders of Alaska. (If possible secure some per- 
son who has visited Alaska to speak on this subject.) 

». The Sheldon Jackson School at Sitka. (Infor- 
mation from Board of National Missions.) 

6. Why the Churches of America should feel a spe- 
cial interest in the Alaskan missions. 

7. Life among the Eskimos. (Secure books on the 
subject from the public library. “My Life with the 
Eskimo” and “The Friendly Arctic,’ both by Stefansson, 
would be suitable.) 

8. What our class can do to help the people of Alaska. 


PROJECTS 


The Board of National Missions is in need of funds 
to carry on the work at Point Barrow and elsewhere. 
The mission at Cape Prince of Wales has been handed 
over to the Presbyterians by the Congregationalists. It 
needs a larger support than it has yet received. Books 
are needed in the mission schools of the territory. ‘The 
missionaries need Bibles and Testaments for distribu- 
tion in mining camps. 


CHA DDRII 


BUILDINGTA, CHURCH  SCHOOUCRRO Gh AvigGia 
WHICH WEeNEED NO Ta BEVASE ANE 


WEEK DAY SESSION 
INADEQUACY OF THE CUSTOMARY PROGRAM 
Deut. 6:1-9, 20-25 


Our Scripture lesson is a part of the farewell address 
of Moses to the people whom he had led for forty years 
in the wilderness. When we read the address through, 
we find that it has to do with religious education. ‘The 
chosen people had learned certain great truths in their 
wilderness experiences. They had learned to know 
Jehovah their God in a way that it was impossible for 
them to know him while they were slaves in Egypt. 
They had been changed from a band of fugitive slaves 
into a nation of freemen. There was a splendid spirit of 
equality among them. None were rich and none were 
poor. They had learned to be obedient to Moses and 
were ready to be just as loyal to Joshua as they had 
been to Moses, and yet they were of a free and in- 
dependent spirit which would ‘rebel against tyranny. 

Moses was a wise leader. He possessed the vision of a 
prophet. He foresaw that under the new conditions in 
their homes in the Promised Land the Hebrews would 
meet new temptations. He knew that the idol worship 
of the surrounding pagan peoples would be a snare to 
many. He knew that there was danger that some of the 
Hebrews might become so greedy for wealth that they 
would oppress their fellow countrymen. He knew that 
in Canaan there would be a constant danger of forgetting 
Jehovah who had been the Deliverer of the Israelites 
in so many times of peril. 

Moses saw that the way to avoid the dangers of the 
new life on which the Hebrews were entering was to 
teach the children the story of the wilderness wanderings 

122 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 123 


and God’s great deliverance of the people from Egyptian 
bondage. He saw that the children must be taught to 
know Jehovah in their earliest years, if the priceless ex- 
periences of the Hebrew people were to be preserved. 

ecause Moses knew that education was necessary for 
the safety of the nation which was just coming into 
its own land, he commanded that the precepts of Jehovah 
and the history of God’s dealing with the chosen people 
should be taught diligently to every child. 

With this end in view, Moses told the people that they 
should talk in their homes about Jehovah and his good 
gifts. ‘They were to talk of these things when they arose 
in the morning and when they went to bed at night. 
They were to write the words of Jehovah on their door- 
posts and upon their gates that the words might be 
seen every day, and many times a day, by the children 
and by all who lived among the Israelites. 

This principle which Moses recognized is just as im- 
portant to-day as it was in the days of Moses. If the 
Church is to succeed in the great task of establishing 
God’s Kingdom on earth, it must make much of religious 
education. In this lesson we are to consider some of 
the failures of the Church in this regard. One of the 
tasks which are of immeasurable importance to-day is 
the organizing of a church-school program of which the 
followers of the Great Teacher need not be ashamed. 
The first steps toward such a program are being taken 
by forward-looking churches of our times, but the full 
accomplishment of the task will rest with those who 
are church-school pupils to-day. 

A Time Allowance Which Is Hopelessly Meager. Most 
of the children of America who are receiving any re- 
ligious education at all in the schools of the Church 
are receiving only about twenty-six hours of religious 
instruction a year. Moreover, the time is badly distrib- 
uted, for the instruction is given in half-hour periods with 
a six-day interval between each lesson. American boys 
and girls are quick to learn, but even they could not 
learn much arithmetic if they were taught after this 
fashion—half-hour recitations once a week. So it is not 
much wonder that these pupils do not learn much about 
the Bible when we remember that in addition to the 


124 KINGDOM TASKS FOR' YOUNG DISCIPLES 


meager amount of time given to the study of the Scrip- 
tures, the majority of the pupils are absent half of the 
time, and not one in a dozen ever does any outside study 
in the preparation of the church-school lessons. Moses 
would have seen that such a plan could never build,a 
Church or a nation on a permanent foundation of right- 
eousness. He commanded his followers to give their chil- 
dren religious instruction every day and several times 
a day. 

A Financial Support Which Is Hopelessly Inadequate. 
If the Church is to have an efficient program of religious 
education, Christians must be willing to. put money into 
the carrying on of the church school. The amount of 
money expended for this great cause in our country is 
pathetically small. There is hardly any commodity for 
which the American people do not spend more than 
they do for the religious education of their children. 
Pencils, chewing gum, lemonade, all cost the American 
people more than their church schools cost them. 

When we compare the items of church expenditure, 
we find that the amount paid for religious education 
comes at the foot of the list, or near it. Churches usually 
pay four or five times as much for the support of a church 
choir as they pay for the support of a church school. 
Only two or three cents of every dollar which the 
churches spend is used to secure religious education for 
their children. We can never have the kind of church- 
school program we ought to have until the churches dis- 
cover that the church school cannot be supported by the 
penny offerings of the children. 

Church Schools Ought to Be Up to Public-School 
Standards. In many ways the church schools are far 
behind the public schools. The Sunday schools and 
other educational agencies of the Church have lagged 
far behind the public schools in the matter of housing, 
equipment, teaching force, lesson materials, educational 
standards, and methods of teaching. This ought not to 
be. One of the big tasks of the day is the task of bringing 
the schools of the Church up to public-school standards. 

A Low Percentage of Efficiency. Modern business has 
developed scientific methods of measuring efficiency and 
of expressing it in percentages. Ifa business house is 


PINGUOMPTASK Si hOREYOUNG DISCIPLES 125 


selling a machine for extracting the sugar from beets, 
it will tell the public just how efficient the machine is. 
If it can save one hundred per cent of the sugar in the 
beets, it will have a ready sale. If the machine is able 
to extract only fifty per cent of the sugar from the 
beets, it cannot be sold. It will be looked upon as a 
crude and useless contrivance, a relic of pioneer days. 

Educational work can also be measured in percentages 
to a certain extent. The work of our public schools 
is estimated in that way. What would the percentage 
of efficiency of the church school be? We are able to 
estimate it. It would be fair to state that a church school 
which is one hundred per cent efficient will reach all the 
pupils which rightfully belong to it, and will so instruct 
them, and influence them, that they will become intelli- 
gent and devoted members of the Christian Church. 
Public-school efficiency is measured in a similar way. 
A public school enrolling all the children of school age 
in its district would be considered one hundred per cent 
efficient in the matter of enrollment. If it brought all 
of its pupils through to intelligent citizenship and worthy 
Character it) could clan) 100) percent efficiency invits 
educational work. How is it with the Sunday school in 
these matters? The Sunday schools of America are 
reaching at any one time only about forty per cent of 
the children dependent upon them for religious instruc- 
tion. In the matter of enrollment they are only forty 
per cent efficient. Not more than forty per cent of the 
pupils who are enrolled in Sunday schools ever become 
Church members. So the Sunday schools are again 
only forty per cent efficient in their efforts to bring 
Sunday-school pupils into Church membership. In their 
whole task of reaching all the children and bringing them 
all into the Church they are consequently only about 
sixteen per cent efficient. What would a farmer do 
with a mower which cut sixteen per cent of the grass 
and left eighty-four per cent standing in the field? What 
would a carpenter do if six of every seven houses he 
tried to build fell down before they were completed? 

We must have a more efficient educational program in 
the Church. The interests of God’s Kingdom demand it. 
These statements have been made in order that boys 


126. i1KINGDOMTMASKS FORT YOUNG UDISGI RIES 


and girls may know the truth about the educational 
work of the Church and may address themselves to the 
task of rearing a larger and better program of religious 
education than their forefathers have provided. 

The Weakest Spot in the Protestant Church. Jesus 
emphasized the importance of the child in all plans 
for the building of God’s Kingdom on earth. In theory 
the Protestant Church is dedicated to these ideals of 
Jesus, but in practice it has fallen far short of them, as 
we have seen in the preceding paragraphs. The Prot- 
estant Church has not placed the child in the midst. 
Church buildings have been constructed without much 
thought of making them suitable for educational pur- 
poses. Ministers have been educated without much 
thought of giving them the preparation they need for 
the educational leadership of a church. All things con- 
sidered, the educational program is the weakest spot 
in the Protestant Church. It is the cause of the Church’s 
most pathetic failures in the congested and foreign-speak- 
ing sections of our great cities and the cause of its steady 
decline in the open country. It has failed to build an 
educational program which meets the needs of the situa- 
tion. In our next lesson we are to study some of the 
forward steps toward a more adequate program which 
have lately been made by the Protestant Churches. 


Wuy Tom Boyvp WisHED to Quit SuNDAY SCHOOL 


Tom Boyd was twelve years old. He had just been 
promoted from the Junior Department of the Sunday 
school to the Intermediate Department. One day he 
did not begin to get ready for Sunday school at the usual 
time and his father said to him: “Tom, it is time to get 
ready for Sunday school, you had better hurry.” Tom 
replied that he believed he would not go that day. His 
father made inquiry as to why he wished to remain at 
home and Tom said: “Aw, I don’t want to go to Sunday 
school any more. I’m too old to go, and besides they 
don’t teach you anything. What’s the use of going?” 

Tom had been fairly well satisfied in the Junior De- 
partment. The Department met by itself and his class 
had a little room of its own. His teacher happened to 


KINGDOMTTASKS POREYOUNG DISCIPH ES (8127 


be a woman who had received training for public-school 
teaching and she knew how to awaken the interest of 
her pupils. But in the Intermediate Department things 
were different. The Intermediates met in the main 
room with all the other Departments of the school. A 
dozen classes had to recite in the same room. ‘Tom’s 
teacher was a conscientious, elderly man, but he did not 
know very much about teaching, especially about teach- 
ing boys. Sometimes the superintendent was troubled 
because he had many more classes than he had teachers. 
At such times he usually came to ‘Tom’s teacher, who 
was faithful in his attendance, and would ask him to 
take in another class with his own. ‘Tom’s teacher did 
not have a very strong voice and sometimes he could 
hardly be heard above the general uproar produced by so 
many teachers trying to teach at the same time and 
near one another. 

Sometimes the boys grew restless and mischievous 
and paid no attention to their teacher, because they could 
not hear what he was trying to say. Not knowing what 
to do when his pupils were inattentive, the teacher did 
nothing at all, but went on as he had always done. Tom 
wondered why he should go to Sunday school. In his 
public school, he had the best teachers available and 
the best textbooks money could buy. He had a well- 
furnished, well-lighted, and quiet room in which to study 
and recite. There were blackboards, and there was a 
shop where all kinds of interesting tasks were assigned 
the boys, with tools for doing the tasks and teachers to 
give them information and guidance. 

As Tom compared his Sunday school with his public 
school, he could not help seeing how poor the church 
school was in comparison with the public school. He 
decided that it was not worth while to go to Sunday 
school. 

Tom’s father was a wise man and he talked matters 
over with his son. He showed him that the Sunday 
school, with all its imperfections, is still the greatest re- 
cruiting force of the Church. He quietly, but firmly in- 
sisted on his son’s going to Sunday school. From that 
morning Tom’s father began to think more seriously 
than he had ever thought before about the needs of the 


128) KINGDOM TASKS FOR; YOUNG DISCIBEES 


church school. He had not been in Sunday school him- 
self for a long time and he began to wonder whether he 
ought not to be there regularly. He began to make in- 
quiries concerning what progressive Sunday schools 
were doing, and so it came about that Tom’s Sunday 
school in time became a more interesting and a more 
profitable institution. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “Handbook for Presbyterian Pioneers.” (Secure 
from the Department of Home and Church of the Board 
of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church in 
the U. S. A., Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia.) 

2. “A Thousand Point Standard for the |Church 
School.” (Board of Christian Education.) 

3. Bulletins on Daily Vacation Bible School and 
Week Day Church School. (Board of Christian Educa- 


tion.) 


SUNDAY SESSION 


A NEW CHURCH SCHOOL PROGRAM WHICH IS COM- 
ING INTO EXISTENCE 


Neh. 8:1-8 


Our Scripture lesson tells of a Bible school organized 
by Ezra the scribe, among the Jews who had returned 
from Babylon to Jerusalem. It was like a great open- 
air Sunday school. It was attended by men and women 
and by children who were old enough to understand 
what was being taught. Before the water gate was a 
large level place and here a platform of wood was erected 
upon which Ezra stood and read portions of the Old 
Testament. The reading began in the early morning and 
it lasted until noon. Ezra had a number of helpers and 
evidently the people divided into classes to study what 
Ezra had read, These classes were taught by Ezra’s 
helpers. 

This Bible school of Ezra’s may be regarded as the 
beginning of our own church schools. The plan which 


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INVdOVd NOILVZINVOIAWNV 





KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 129 


Ezra began has been continued with many modifica- 
tions all through the following centuries. ‘Teaching the 
Old Testament became a regular part of the synagogue 
service. When the Christian Church was formed, teach- 
ing was given a large part in its program. In the Early 
Church there were catechists who gave all their time 
to teaching children and others the fundamental truths 
of the Christian faith. 

Up to the time of the Protestant Reformation, and to a 
certain extent after that movement, education was largely 
under the control of the Church and all who received any 
education received considerable religious instruction. In 
America the separation of Church and State has made it 
impossible to teach religion in the public schools. A 
great task has thus been thrown upon the Church in 
America, the task of building a church program of edu- 
cation as efficient as our public-school program and work- 
ing in harmony with it. In this lesson we are to study 
some of the attempts which the Churches are making to 
build such a program. 

The Daily Vacation Bible School. It used to be thought 
that summer was a time when the educational work of 
the Church must be partially or wholly suspended. It 
has been shown that Summer presents opportunities for 
supplementing the church-school program rather than 
the necessity for curtailing it. Daily Vacation Bible 
Schools are carried on during the summer vacation sea- 
son. ‘They are usually held every day of the week for 
four or five weeks and their sessions very often are from 
nine in the morning to noon. With such a _ school, 
churches are able to give their pupils more religious 
instruction than is given in a whole year of Sunday- 
school work. The vacation work is especially valuable 
because the periods are much longer than the Sunday- 
school periods and they come in consecutive days. 

Some of the vacation schools spend nearly all their 
time in studying the Bible. Others have Bible stories, 
but give their pupils other stories than those found in 
the Bible and likewise provide handwork for the pupils. 
Most of the vacation schools have outings for the pupils, 
athletic events, and closing exhibitions to which the 
parents of the pupils are specially invited. 


130 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


The Week-Day Church Schools. Another supple- 
mental agency for the educational program of the Church 
is found in the week-day church school. ‘These schools 
run throughout the public-school year. In some cases 
they hold sessions one hour a week, in other cases two, 
or more hours, a week. In some cities the pupils of the 
public school are dismissed from their classes to attend 
the church schools. 

The movement for week-day religious instruction has 
grown very rapidly and it seems certain to become a 
standard method of securing religious instruction for 
school children in our country. In many of the week- 
day church schools the teachers are paid. Good text- 
books are usually provided and the work of the classes 
brought up to public-school standards. 

Summer Camps. Churches are beginning to realize 
the great educational opportunities offered by summer 
camps for boys and girls. In camp life the children come 
into peculiarly close touch with their leaders. They go 
on walks together. They sit together about the camp 
fire at night. They are together at their meals. If these 
leaders are godly men and godly women they have an 
opportunity to teach which is second in its importance 
only to the opportunity of parents in the home. 

Solving the Time Problem. In the preceding lesson 
we saw how meager is the time provided for religious in- 
struction by the customary educational program of the 
individual church. By taking advantage of the Daily 
Vacation Bible School, the week-day church school and 
the summer camp, churches can solve this time problem. 
Instead of the meager twenty-five hours a year they have 
been providing, they can provide more than two hundred 
hours a year of religious instruction for their children 
and young people. With this fundamental problem out 
of the way, churches can go on to build a church- 
school program which will be adequate in other respects. 

Solving the Enrollment Problem. We saw in the pre- 
ceding lesson that the Protestant Churches were reaching 
only about forty per cent of the children and young 
people rightfully belonging to them. The agencies 
which we have mentioned in this lesson are able to 
solve this enrollment problem as well as the time 


DINGDOMETASKS KOR YOUNG DISCIPLES --131 


problem. By putting on a week-day church schooi 
system cooperating with the public-school system, the 
churches of almost any community can succeed in reach- 
ing practically all the school children with religious in- 
struction. It is being done, not in one community, but 
in many. In the State of New York at least twenty 
towns are carrying on church-school systems which reach 
practically all of the children attending the public 
schools. In one town the enrollment in the church schools 
is twenty-five per cent larger than the enrollment in the 
public schools. Several towns in Illinois and several 
in Kansas are doing as well as the towns in New York. 
It all the cities, towns, and country communities of our 
nation will follow the good example set by the cities and 
towns which have been mentioned, one of the greatest 
problems of America will be solved. Religious education 
will be brought to all the school children of the land. 


RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION PROVIDED 


HOURS PER YEAR 

Prorestaut 2 Samm 

Catnotic 200 TRAN TRATRERTRRENT 
Jewisn 375 ROR RANTES TREES! 
Avanacce iw Gary 207 Queer 


THE WEEK-DAY CHURCH SCHOOL 
GIVES THE PROTESTANT CHILD A CHANCE 











Working Toward a More Unified Program. ‘The edu- 
cational program of the Church has been not only meager, 
but also scattered. Such agencies as the Sunday school 
and the Christian Endeavor societies have existed side by 
side within the same church without any plan for united 
action, without common goals, without a division of 
labor. Consequently there have been overlappings and 
confusion and sometimes unfortunate competition be- 
tween rival organizations. There is now a movement 
toward a church school which shall have within its pro- 
eram all that is needed for the religious nurture of the 
children and youth of the Church. The educational work 


132 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


of the Church is being unified and the inefficiency due 
to a poorly arranged and sadly divided program is be- 
ginning to disappear. 


THE SALVATION OF TRINITY CHURCH 


Thirty years ago Trinity Church was one of the strong 
churches of San Francisco. It had a large Sunday school 
and its auditorium was filled at the morning and evening 
preaching services. Five years ago this same church was 
nearly dead. It could hardly maintain itself and every- 
thing indicated that it would soon be gone. A little 
group of people still gathered in the church Sunday 
morning to worship, but they looked very lonely scat- 
tered over the large auditorium. In the evening there 
were so few that the services were held in a basement 
room. ‘The Sunday school had likewise gone downhill. 
The leaders of the congregation talked of disbanding 
and selling the church property. They felt they must at 
least seek some community more favorable for the life 
of the church. 

What had happened? Had nearly all the people left 
the part of the city where Trinity Church was located? 
Some had moved away, it is true, but many more had 
come to the district than had moved away from it. In 
fact the district had increased in population fourfold 
during the time that the church was declining. People 
of a different type had settled about the church. Italians, 
Germans, Scandinavians, Russians, and many others 
had taken the places of the American people who moved 
away, and had filled up the vacant places of the district 
to overflowing. . 

With all these changes Trinity Church tried to go 
on without change. It still maintained morning preach- 
ing service, evening preaching service, midweek prayer 
meeting, and Sunday school. It lost contact with the 
community. The church was like a noble tree from 
which a flood had washed away the surrounding soil 
leaving another and:a lower soil, but a rich soil withal, 
in the place of that which it had removed; and which had 
left the tree standing high and dry above the surrounding 
plain. The puzzle was how to get the tree down and 
safely rooted in its surrounding and newly formed soil. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 133 


A new era began for Trinity Church when some young 
men connected with it undertook a Daily Vacation Bible 
School. They advertised the school so well and made 
its work so interesting that before the close of the term 
hundreds of boys and girls had enrolled. On the closing 
night they had an exhibition. On tables in the class- 
room were displayed articles which the pupils had made 
in the school. The pupils gave some dramatizations 
of Bible stories. That old Sunday-school room which 
had not been filled for many a year was full that night, 
full of people of all nationalities and all descriptions. 
Many of the children who had been in the Daily Vacation 
Bible School came into the Sunday school. It was de- 
cided to carry on the Daily Vacation Bible School pro- 
gram throughout the year, and the church thus made a 
beginning of week-day religious instruction, Other agen- 
cies for reaching the children and young people were 
organized. The foreign-speaking people began to find out 
that Trinity Church was a great friendly center where 
they could find help in many ways. They found there 
classes where they could learn the English language, 
classes where they could learn how to make clothes like 
those the American people were wearing, and kinder- 
garten classes where they could leave their young chil- 
dren when they were at work in the factories. 

At the present time Trinity Church has regained all 
its lost ground. More people pass in and out of its 
doors than ever before in its history. They are learning, 
too, what it means to be a true follower of Jesus, learning 
it in the best way possible, through contact with those 
whose hearts are full of the spirit of Jesus. Trinity 
Church declined because its program, especially its edu- 
cational program was not well suited to the people in 
the midst of whom it was located. It revived when the 
right kind of educational program was organized. 


Tur LESSON PRAYER 


We thank thee, our Father in heaven, for the Christian 
Church and for the schools which it has organized for 
teaching people the truths of the Christian religion. We 
ask thee to help us to be faithful in our church school 


134 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


duties. We would do our part in making the schools 
of the Church all they ought to be. Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “Unfinished Business,’ Eastman. Chapter VI. 

2. “Presbyterian Young People’s Service Program,” 
Board of Christian Education (leaflet). 

3. Make a further study of the bulletins on Daily 
Vacation Bible Schools and week-day church schools. 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 


SETTING UP NEW GOALS FOR OUR CHURCH 
SCHOOLS 


Acts 10:1-36 


Our Scripture lesson tells how Peter was brought to 
see that God is no respecter of persons. Peter had been 
brought up to think of the Jews as God’s chosen people 
and so they were; chosen for a great task. ,~But Peter 
did not think of them as chosen in that way. He had 
been taught to think of the Jews as being especially 
near to the heart of God. He thought of God as loving 
the Jews especially and bestowing special favors on them. 
He felt this so keenly that he did not wish to have 
much to do with people who were not Jews. 

It may seem strange that Peter kept all these ideas 
and all these prejudices during his three years with 
Jesus;) but: such’ was evidently, \the ‘case, [deasmana 
prejudices lodged in our hearts and minds in childhood 
are exceedingly hard to eradicate. The fact is that Peter 
had become accustomed to living according to certain 
standards and it was hard for him to leave the old stand 
ards for the new. One of his standards had forbidden 
him to enter the house of a Gentile or to eat at a Gentile’s 
table. 

The verses which we have chosen tell us how Peter 
finally left his old standards for the new. God had to 
send a special dream, or vision, to Peter before he could 
understand the matter. He had to bring Peter into con- 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 1 


oS) 
isa 


tact with a Roman captain who was such a good man 
that Peter could not help seeing that he ought to treat 
him as a friend even though he was a Gentile. 

It is somewhat like this in the work of the Church. 
People become accustomed to certain standards, so ac- 
customed to them that they seem almost sacred. ‘The 
best way to abandon the old standards which are no 
longer adequate and to adopt the new, is to give these 
conservative Church members a vision of something 
better than they have ever known. Some of the mem- 
bers and officers of Trinity Church, concerning which 
we studied in the preceding lesson, held desperately to 
the old standards of Church work. Most of them were 


won to the new methods when these methods demon- 
Strated nei elliciency. 


SomE Facts To BE DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


Millions of pupils in the public schools of the United 
States are not enrolled in the schools of any Church. 
Their education is of an imperfect type, for no one is 
truly educated if his religious capacities are left unde- 
veloped. 

The responsibility for religious education in our nation 
rests upon the home and the Church. The State, how- 
ever, ought to cooperate heartily in the matter by grant- 
ing a part of the child’s week-day time for religious 
education. 

It is said that the educational influences about the 
American child stand in the following order: the home, 
the public schools, the moving-picture shows, the 
Church. Where ought the Church to stand? 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 
1. Show that Moses was interested in religious edu- 
cation. 
2. Why is an adequate amount of time for teaching 
an important matter in religious education. 


3. Show that the church school receives inadaquate 
financial support. 


136 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


4. Why is religious education the weakest spot in the 
Protestant Church? 

5. What was Ezra’s Bible school, and why was its or- 
ganization an event of much importance? 

6. What is a Daily Vacation Bible School? A week- 
day church school? 

7. Show how the time problem is being solved. 

8. Show how the enrollment problem is being solved. 


BisBLE VERSES 


Rrov. 226°, Mark 9::36;37+10:13-16;"CiukesZ:40- i 
Tim) 33147153) Deut. -6:20-25-) Matty 13:5 cee 
Eccl. 9:10; Eph. 4:11. 


Topics 


1. The different lesson systems for the Sunday school. 
(Uniform, Closely Graded, Departmental. Explain each 
and show advantages of graded courses.) 

2. Two parables which teach the necessity of new 
methods and new standards. Matt. 9:14-17. 

3. Jesus’ directions concerning how new truths and 
new methods are to be tested. John 16: 12-15, 

4. Ways in which we can help our church school. 

5. The “Thousand Point Standard” and goals which 
our school should set up. (Secure a copy of the Stand- 
ard from the Board of Christian Education.) 


PROJECT 


Have the class study the “Thousand Point Standard” 
and choose some part of it as a goal toward which they 
are to strive. 


SECTION II 
TASKS IN OTHER LANDS 


“Fe shall have dominion also from sea to sea, 

And from the River unto the ends of the earth.”— 
sa /2-o) 

“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy moun- 
tain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.”’—Isa. 11:9. 

“Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, 
baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son 
and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all 
things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with 
you always, even unto the end of the world.’—Matt. 
(oe ANNE a: 

“But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit 
is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in 
Jerusalem, and in all Judzea and Samaria, and unto the 
uttermost part of the earth.”—Acts 1:8. 






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CHAPTER X 


SOUTH AMERICA, THE NEGLECTED 
CONTINENT 


WEEK DAY SESSION 


A GLANCE AT, A NEGUECTED TASK 
John 4:1-4, 39-42 


We have been studying some spiritual problems of our 
own country, problems which must be solved if our coun- 
try is to fulfill the plans of God. We have been looking 
at some great tasks, tasks which must be performed if 
our nation is to be an instrument for establishing God’s 
Kingdom on earth. Not all of the tasks of American 
Christians are confined within the boundaries of the 
United States. We must labor on at our home tasks, but 
at the same time we must take hold of other vast under- 
takings for God in distant regions of the earth. The les- 
sons which we are now to study have to do with these 
tasks in other lands. In this chapter we are to study 
about our neighboring continent, South America. Be- 
cause so little mission work has been done in South 
America it has been called “the neglected continent.” 

Jesus and the Samaritans. As an introduction to our 
study of South America and our relations with that con- 
tinent, we turn to one of the New Testament passages 
which tells us about Jesus and his relations with the 
people of Samaria. One day Jesus and his disciples de- 
cided to leave Judea and return to Galilee. Now when 
the Jews of Galilee went back home after attending the 
great feasts at Jerusalem, they were accustomed to start 
eastward, descending into the deep gorge of the Jordan 
by way of Jericho. Crossing that river they traveled up 
its eastern bank until they came to the Sea of Galilee, 
where they forded the river to its western bank and then 
climbed the long hills back to their homes in the Gali- 
lean highlands. It was a roundabout course and a very 

139 


140 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


uncomfortable one, since the Jordan valley was hot and 
unhealthful for a large part of the year. 

It is probable that the disciples wished to return to 
Galilee by the route we have described, but Jesus seems 
to have insisted on a direct course from Jerusalem to 
Galilee through Samaria. The Jews made the long de- 
tour in order to avoid setting foot on the soil of the de- 
spised Samaritans. Jesus would have nothing to do with 
such prejudices and that is why John says of him, “He 
must needs pass through Samaria.” 

On that journey Jesus talked with a Samaritan woman 
by Jacob’s well at Sychar and he turned her toward the 
light of Christian truth. He entered into a Samaritan 
village and spent two days there, and as a result of his 
visit many of the Samaritans believed on him and ac- 
cepted him as the Saviour of the world. It may be helpful 
to us to think of our relationships to the people of South 
America as somewhat like the relationships of Jesus and 
his first followers to the Samaritans. The Samaritans 
differed from the disciples in race and religion a good 
deal as the people of South America differ from us in 
race and religion. ‘The Jewish people had for many cen- 
turies thought of themselves as superior to the Samari- 
tans, and had failed to make any effort to help these 
neighbors. 

A Continent of Vast Extent and of Unmeasured Re- 
sources. South America is only a little smaller than 
North America. As a home for mankind it may ulti- 
mately be proved to be better suited for the support of 
a great population than is North America. Its resources 
are simply immeasurable. It has no vast and frozen 
tundra as is found in North America. It has higher 
mountains than North America, but they occupy for the 
most part a comparatively narrow strip along the west- 
ern coast, It has some deserts, but its arid regions are 
not so extensive as the similar areas of North America. 
Moreover, its mountains and its deserts are stored with 
minerals of priceless value. Its forests are among the 
most extensive in the world, and they have hardly been 
touched by the ax. The physical as well as the spiritual 
development of South America has been neglected, but 
a new era of development for the continent is at hand. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 141 


Why the South American Continent Has Been Neg- 
lected. The physical development of South America has 
been delayed by such hindrances as the ruggedness 
of its western mountains, the density of its forests 
and the unhealthful climate of some of its lowlands. The 
continent likewise lies somewhat off the established 
routes of civilization. It takes almost four times as long 
to travel from New York to Buenos Aires as it takes to 
travel from New York to London. South America has 
also lacked that sturdy race of Anglo-Saxons, Scandi- 
navians, and other northern peoples, who have done so 
much to develop North America. 

The slow spiritual development of South America and 
the present low condition of the continent as concerns 
education and religion are due in part to the causes which 
have been named as operating against the physical de- 
velopment of the continent. But there is a deeper cause. 
North America was settled by Puritans, Huguenots, 
Scotch and Irish Presbyterians, and other Protestant 
peoples, for the most part. South America was settled 
by Roman Catholics. Whatever may be our opinion of 
the Roman Catholics who are our neighbors in the United 
States, we can hardly escape the fact that in countries 
where the Roman Catholic Church has had full control, 
neither education nor religion of a high order has flour- 
ished. It has been thus in South America. For some cen- 
turies the leaders of the Roman Church had no opposi- 
tion in South America from any competing Protestant 
body. ‘To-day the people are sunk in vice, superstition, 
and ignorance. In most South American countries from 
eighty to ninety per cent of the people can neither read 
nor write. Drunkenness and immorality abound. A few 
of the people are rich but the multitudes are poor. 

Some Protestant people have hesitated when it was 
proposed to establish missions in South America, and 
that is one reason why the continent has been so long 
neglected. They hesitated because they did not wish to 
be considered as trying to tear down another Christian 
denomination. It would seem, however, that the great 
needs of the South American people must justify the 
Protestant Churches of our nation in establishing mis- 
sions in South America, even though the continent is 


142 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


claimed by the Roman Catholic Church. The interests of 
God’s Kingdom seem to make it necessary. 

Why the Task of Helping South America Belongs 
Peculiarly to American Christians. There are many rea- 
sons why the Christians of our country are under especial 
obligations to help South America. The closest rela- 
tionships of the South American countries are with our 
country. They trade chiefly with us. Nearly all of them 
are republics and, whether they will admit it or not, they 
are looking to us for suggestions and for ideals. We of 
all the nations of the earth are best able to give them a 
helping hand. The nations of Europe are prostrate as 
a result of the World War. Some of them are torn by 
internal dissensions. Our nation is great and strong. 
We can, if we will, lend a hand and help our southern 
neighbors up to a plane of stable government and Chris- 
tian civilization which will make the neglected continent 
one of the foundations on which God can rear a universal 
Kingdom of justice and brotherhood for all mankind. 
Shall we look on these neighbors as the Pharisees looked 
on their Samaritan neighbors, or shall we look on them 
with the compassion and love of Jesus? 

The Help Which South America Needs. South Amer- 
ica needs our help in education. There have been for 
centuries certain schools for the children of wealthy 
people in most of the countries in South America, but 
the common people have been almost wholly neglected. 
A few mission schools scattered here and there will do 
great things for the continent. They will introduce high 
standards of teaching. They will train teachers for the 
schools carried on by the various governments. 

South America needs physicians. In many sections 
the people are as completely without skilled medical aid 
as are the people of central Africa. Hospitals are ex- 
ceedingly scarce, and the few that have been established 
are for the most part poorly equipped and lacking in 
trained leadership. 

Above all, South America needs our help in laying 
hold upon the great, fundamental truths of the gospel of 
Jesus. His ideals of service and purity must be given to 
the people of that continent. They must be set free from 
the bondage of sin and superstition by faith in the 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 143 


Saviour of the world whom they have either not known 
at all, or have seen but darkly. In the interior regions 
of the continent are millions of Indians who have never 
even heard the name of Jesus. 


RAFAEL BERNAL FINDS A FRIEND 


Rafael Bernal was a twelve-year-old boy who lived 
in Barranquilla, on the northern coast of Colombia. 
Rafael’s mother had died many years before and his 
father had married again. The lad’s father was away 
from home a good deal, and thus the training of the boy 
fell largely into the hands of the stepmother. The two 
did not get along well together. Rafael came to believe 
that his best policy was to outwit his stepmother when- 
ever he could. 

One day the stepmother told Rafael’s father that she 
could not get along with the boy any longer. ““He must 
be put in some institution where he will be made to 
mind,” she said. Rafael himself was secretly plotting to 
run away from home and there is no telling what might 
have become of him had not his father that day come 
across a fortunate bit of information. His father had 
heard of a school which some Protestant missionaries 
from North America were conducting. He was told 
that the school was very successful, that the boys learned 
there not only the lessons contained in books but also the 
mote important lessons of manliness and diligence. So 
he told his wife to take the boy to the missionaries’ 
school, 

The next morning the stepmother appeared at the 
school. She told the teachers that the boy was a thief, 
that he could not be trusted in any way, and that they 
were to keep him locked up in the school. She refused 
to give her stepson any spending money, and told the 
teachers that they were at liberty to punish him in any 
way and to any extent they saw fit. 

With this somewhat uncomplimentary introduction the 
stepmother withdrew. Young Bernal was soon after 
ushered into the presence of the school principal, Dr. 
W. E. Vanderbilt. The lad expected to be severely lec- 
tured. He expected to be told about the punishments he 


144 - KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


would receive if he disobeyed the rules of the school. To 
his surprise he found himself in the presence of a gentle- 
man who talked with him kindly. Dr. Vanderbilt told 
the boy that he was going to trust him fully. He asked 
about the lad’s spending money, and being told that he 
had none, he said that each boy in the school was allowed 
to have two cents a day to spend as he liked, and that 
this custom was continued as long as the boys showed 
themselves to be diligent and trustworthy students. 
Rafael responded to such treatment, and before the end 
of the year his name was on the honor roll. He is day by 
day laying hold of ideals which are new to him. He is 
becoming a man who will help to make a better South 
America. 

This story illustrates what is being done in scores of 
mission schools in South America. By reaching the boys 
and girls the missionaries are making a better land. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. Write to the secretary of Missionary Education of 
the Board of Foreign Missions, 156 Fifth Ave., New 
York City, asking for copies of missionary letters for 
Sunday schools. Letters from South American mission- 
aries may thus be obtained for use in the class. 

2. “Pen Picture of the Central Brazil Mission.” 

3. “Pen Picture of: the South Brazil Mission.” 

4. “Pen Picture of the Chile Mission.” 

5. “Pen Pictures of the Colombia and Venezuela Mis- 
sions,” 

(The “Pen Picture” series of missionary booklets can 
be had from the Board of Foreign Missions of the Pres- 
byterian Church, 156 Fifth Ave., New York City. The 
price is fifteen cents each. They contain much inter- 
esting material which may be assigned to pupils as sup- 
plementary work.) 

The Annual Report of the Board of Foreign Mis- 
sions. (This report should be secured from the above 
address. If the latest issue of the report is used, it will 
enable the teacher to bring much fresh and interesting 
material to the class.) 

7. Lantern Slides: “The Gospel Under the Southern 
Cross” (70 slides). | 





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KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 145 
SUNDAY SESSION 
TAKING UP THE NEGLECTED TASK 
Acts 8:4-8, 14-17 


Not long after the Day of Pentecost the followers of 
Jesus took up a task which the Jewish people had neg- 
lected for five hundred years. A great persecution of 
the Christians had arisen in Jerusalem and throughout 
Judea. Some of the Christians fled into Samaria and 
preached the gospel there. Philip, one of the deacons of 
the Jerusalem church, was especially successful in win- 
ning the Samaritans for Christ. 

After a time the Christians who were still dwelling in 
Jerusalem heard about the great work Philip was doing 
in Samaria and they sent Peter and John into that region. 
It was not very long before this that John had wished to 
call down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritans, 
but now he was willing to risk his life to save them. He 
had learned to think of Samaritans as his Master thought 
of them. His prejudices were gone and love ruled his 
life. 

It is thus that the Christians of our land will be led to 
take up their long neglected task in South America. They 
must become like their Master in sympathy, brotherl- 
ness, and zeal for service. ‘There are some such Chris- 
tians among us and the number is increasing. In this 
lesson we are to learn something about what these Chris- 
tians are doing for their South American neighbors. We 
shall glance at what is being done in a few South Ameri- 
can countries as illustrations of what is being done in the 
continent as a whole. 

Chile and the Chileans. Chile occupies a long, narrow 
strip on the western coast of southern South America. 
Averaging only about ninety miles in width, the terri- 
tory of Chile stretches along the Pacific coast for two 
thousand six hundred miles. It is long enough to reach 
from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Liverpool, England. Ex- 
tending from a point well within the tropical regions, it 
reaches south almost to the antarctic regions. More- 
over, in its narrow width it rises from sea level up to 


146 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


some of the loftiest peaks to be found in the Western 
Hemisphere. Chile has, therefore, a great variety of 
climatic conditions. ‘There are deserts where rain seldom 
falls, and other sections where the rainfall is exceedingly 
heavy, resulting in vast and dense forests. With her 
lakes, forest-clad hills, and snow-capped mountains, Chile 
is'a land ofvrugged and Ssublimesscenery: 

The population of Chile is about 4,000,000, most of the 
people being of either pure Spanish descent or Spanish 
and Indian mixed. The people of Chile are among the 
most industrious and progressive to be found in all South 
America. The predominant religion is Roman Catholic, 
but many of the leading people of the republic are 
friendly to Protestantism. Spanish is the language of 
the country, though there are many Indian words in 
common use. 

It is evident to most visitors to Chile that the Chileans 
have a deep admiration for the United States and that 
they are modeling their nation after ours. They have 
made a beginning in child-welfare work, and the senti- 
ment for prohibition is growing, especially since the 
adoption of the Fighteenth Amendment in our country. 
Dry zones have recently been established around some of 
the great mining centers of Chile. 

Protestant missions in Chile began in 1846, when David 
Trumbull came to Valparaiso and began work under the 
Seaman’s Friend Society and the American and Foreign 
Christian Union. Supported by these two organizations 
he gave more than forty years of service to South Amer- 
ica. The Presbyterian Church:now has well-established 
mission centers at Santiago, Valparaiso, Concepcion, and 
Taltal. The Methodists and Baptists, as well as several 
interdenominational missionary societies, are also carry- 
ing on extensive missionary enterprises. The work is 
not yet of large proportions, but is of very great impor- 
tance, since it is demonstrating that the gospel of Christ 
can be brought to the Chileans and that they respond 
COME: 

Brazil, a Portuguese-Speaking Republic. ‘That portion 
of South America which now constitutes the nation of 
Brazil was first seen by Europeans when the Portuguese 
navigator, Pedro Cabral, sailed along the coast, in the 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 147 


neighborhood of the present site of Bahia, in the year 
1500. He took possession of the newly discovered land 
in the name of the king of Portugal. For nearly three 
centuries Brazil was a Portuguese colony. Then the rule 
of the mother country was thrown off, and it became a 
monarchy ruled by an emperor. Some sixty-seven years 
later, that is in 1889, Brazil became a republic. 

It thus came about that, while Spanish is the leading 
language in most other South American countries, Por- 
tuguese is the leading language of Brazil. Many other 
languages are spoken, since Brazil is a nation of many 
different races. There are great numbers of Indians in 
the interior, and many of them still speak their native 
tongue. Great numbers of Negroes are found in the 
states bordering the Atlantic. They are the descendants 
of slaves brought from Africa. 

Brazil is by far the largest country of South America. 
Itusealmost as large as the United States. It has one 
state, Matto Grosso, which is larger than Texas. The 
population of Brazil is about 22,000,000. It is a country 
of vast, undeveloped resources. Although lying for the 
most part within the torrid zone, it has a temperate cli- 
mate in many sections. The high plateaus of the eastern 
regions are not oppressively hot at any season. On them 
wheat, corn, and other crops, of the temperate zones are 
raised. The valley of the Amazon is covered with one of 
the greatest forest growths in the world. ‘Towards the 
south there are extensive prairies which are as yet occu- 
pied by only a few cattle raisers with their herds. Every- 
thing indicates that the republic of Brazil is just at the 
beginning of its career as a nation. In its industrial de- 
velopment it stands where the United States stood a 
hundred years ago. All these facts have a bearing on the 
mission problem. ‘They help us to see that now is the 
accepted time for pushing Protestant missions in this 
great country. 

The first efforts to establish Protestantism in Brazil 
were made by the Huguenots in 1555. Fleeing from 
dreadful persecutions in their native land, these heroic 
French Protestants came to various countries of the New 
World. Some settled in the colonies which afterward 
became the United States of America. Some settled in 


148 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


Brazil. The Huguenots who settled in North America 
became in many instances our leading citizens. Perse- 
cutions followed those who settled in Brazil. They were 
imprisoned and some were killed. The Protestantism 
which they brought to South America was ruthlessly de- 
stroyed. For nearly~two hundred years the Protestant 
religion was not allowed to gain a foothold in Brazil. 
The Roman Catholic Church had everything its own 
way. 

About the year 1855 a Scotch physician came to Rio 
de Janeiro. He soon built up a large medical practice, 
for the need for the services of a skilled physician was 
great. But he did something besides minister to the 
physical needs of the people. He distributed the Scrip- 
tures. He gathered the people and talked to them about 
the iundamental truths of the Christian religion. His 
work resulted in the organization of two Congregational 
churches and these two have since grown to twelve. 

The Presbyterian Church now has sixteen regular mis- 
sion stations in Brazil. ‘he work of these stations in 
many cases extends to many outlying points where mis- 
sion work has been started. Some of these stations have 
become strong enough to assume self-support. There is 
thus being built up a native Protestant Church which is 
self-supporting and self-governing. ‘This is a matter of 
very great importance. It leads the people of Brazil to 
feel that Protestantism is not a foreign religion which is 
being forced upon them, but a religion of their own, and 
the hope of their nation. 

Colombia, a Rich and Fertile Country. The republic of 
Colombia occupies the northwestern corner of South 
America and touches both the Caribbean Sea and the 
Pacific Ocean. It consists of two nearly equal portions. 
One of these sections consists of lofty mountain ranges 
with rich and fertile valleys and high, cool plateaus scat- 
tered among the mountain chains. ‘The other section is 
low and level, covered with grasslands at the north and 
extending into the great forests of the Amazon at the 
south. 

Presbyterian missions were begun in Colombia in 1856. 
This was the first effort of the Presbyterian Church to 
plant the Christian faith in South America. Civil war 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 149 


broke out in Colombia at about the time our own Civil 
War began. The civil wars of Colombia, unlike our own 
great conflict, were long continued. They lasted almost 
continuously for more than fifty years. The development 
of this naturally rich country was greatly delayed. 
Through all the turmoil the missionaries held to their 
posts. Early in the twentieth century Colombia suc- 
ceeded in establishing a more stable form of government, 
and at the present time the mission work is promising. 
The Presbyterian Church is the’ only Protestant body 
carrying on missions in Colombia. Six mission stations 
are maintained, There is a growing appreciation of the 
work of the missionaries. There is need for a larger pro- 
gram of mission work. Medical work, educational under- 
takings, and evangelical preaching ought to be put on a 
larger basis. 

Venezuela and Its Needs. Venezuela occupies a wedge 
of country lying east of Colombia. The low-lying regions 
of the coast are hot and fertile. Farther inland the cli- 
mate becomes more temperate because of the increased 
elevation. Caracas, the capital, lies on a plateau 3,500 
feet above the sea and has a climate like an endless June. 
Farther inland there are vast stretches of grasslands, 
which extend to the frontier of Brazil. Venezuela is an 
extensive country, larger than most people think. It is 
as large as all the New England States with New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois 
thrown in. It is one of the most thinly settled countries 
of South America, although it has resources sufficient to 
support a very large population. 

Venezuela is a very needy country. Eighty-five per 
cent of its people cannot read or write. Although it is on 
the whole a healthful country, the death rate is very high. 
Its spiritual needs are greatest of all, for the people have 
walked in spiritual darkness through many years. What 
the Venezuelan people are capable of becoming is shown 
by their national hero, Simon Bolivar, who is sometimes 
called “The Washington of South America.” Under the 
leadership of Bolivar, five South American republics won 
their freedom from the rule of Spain. 

The Presbyterian Foreign Mission Board is the only 
large and strong organization carrying on mission work 


150 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


in Venezuela, and it has only one station, that at Caracas. 
A little work is done by organizations like the American 
Bible Society, but the burden of responsibility for win- 
ning this great country to the Christian faith rests upon 
the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. 


Mrse Puitriiprs MAKrEs «A NEIGHBORLY GALE 


Mrs. Phillips is a missionary in Caracas, Venezuela. 
In a letter to the Sunday-school pupils of America she 
has told something of her work. She described an after- 
noon call which she made in a certain section of Caracas. 
The streets over which she passed were narrow, crooked, 
and full of steep places as they crawled about over the 
mountain side. Everywhere ragged children gathered to 
see the strange, foreign lady. All the children were dirty, 
some quite without any sort of clothing. 

Mrs. Phillips climbed down a street over rough earthen 
steps to where a brook was rushing among the big rocks 
which nearly filled its channel. She found a board which 
led as a rickety bridge out to a stone in the center of the 
stream. From there she managed to get across the creek 
by jumping from stone to stone. At last she reached the 
house of the people she had come out to visit. At her 
knock the rough plank door was pulled open, revealing 
one small room in which many people were accustomed 
to live. The house was nothing but a rude hut made of 
mud. 

If you had been there when Mrs. Phillips entered, you 
would have witnessed something interesting and beauti- 
ful. A young woman came forward to greet Mrs. Phillips 
and in her greeting there was all that warmth of love 
with which Christians are wont to greet one another in 
lands where the followers of Jesus are few. This young 
woman was only seventeen years old, yet she had been 
married for two years. She had become interested in the 
mission and had developed into as earnest and noble a 
Christian as can well be imagined. She was a faithful 
attendant at all the services of the mission. Under her 
influence her husband and other members of the family 
had become interested in the Protestant faith, and had 
begun to attend the meetings at the mission. 


ranGuOM TASKS FORVYOUNG.DISCIPEES” 7151 


Tue Lesson PRAYER 


Our Father in heaven we pray that thou wilt bless the 
work of the missionaries in South America. Help them to 
win many to the way of life which thou hast prepared 
for thy children through Jesus thy Son. We ask thee to 
bless the work of our own denomination and the work of 
all other denominations which honor thy Son and which 
are represented by missionaries in South America. Teach 
us to see the needs of these countries about which we 
have been studying and give us a spirit of unselfishness 
which will cause us to support the work of our Church 
there as it ought to be supported. Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “Makers of South America,” Daniels. 

2. “south American Problems,” Speer. 

3. “Pen Pictures of the Colombia and Venezuela 
Missions.” 

4, “Pen Picture of the Chile Mission.” 

5. “Pen Pictures of the Mexico and Guatemala Mis- 
sions.” 

6. “Pen Picture of the South Brazil Mission.” 

7. “Pen Picture of the Central Brazil Mission.” 

8. Lantern Slides: “The Gospel Under the Southern 
Cross” (76 slides). “Our Neighbor Mexico” (58 slides). 

9. Secure a map of South America, or draw one on 
a large sheet of paper and locate all the mission stations 
mentioned in the “Pen Pictures” which were recom- 
mended in the preceding lesson. 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 
POUARIDE TH ORSCHRISULAN? 
John 4:5-26 
When Jesus spoke to the woman of Samaria, he broke 


one of the long-established social standards of the Jewish 
people. Fora Jew to speak to a Samaritan man was not 


152 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


considered good form by the Pharisees, but to speak to a 
Samaritan woman accidentally met as a stranger was to 
their notion an unusual breach of etiquette. Jesus 
brushed aside all these false standards. He would not 
permit them to hinder his work of helping people to find 
a better way of life. He did not hesitate to drink from a 
water jar which had been touched by the hands of a 
Samaritan woman. If a Pharisee were on the street and 
his garments touched a Samaritan, he would go home 
and change his clothes and wash his hands and imagine 
himself unclean for the rest of the day. 

The spirit of the Pharisees has not passed away. Even 
some professed followers of Jesus manifest it to a certain 
extent. It is the spirit which causes a person to hold 
aloof from others with a “holier-than-thou” attitude. It 
is the spirit which causes a person to take little interest 
in missionary enterprises. It is quite the opposite of the 
Spirit of Jesus. A person with a Pharisaic spirit will not 
be much interested in the spiritual welfare of people in 
far-away South America. ‘Those who have caught the 
spirit of Jesus will be interested in every effort to uplift 
their fellow men, no matter where their fellow men may 
dwell. 


SoME Facts to Br DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


The greatest stretch of unevangelized territory in the 
world lies in the center of South America, including the 
interior of Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, 
and Paraguay. 

In natural resources the portion of the Western Hemi- 
sphere south of the Rio Grande is probably the richest 
region on earth. Yet that whole region is deeply blighted 
with poverty and illiteracy and cruel injustice; a colossal 
illustration of the fact that righteousness is essential to 
any real material prosperity. 

The presidents of five different South American re- 
publics have officially requested that Protestant missions 
be organized within their territory. 


 Revirw Questions 


1. Why is South America called “the neglected con- 
tinent”? 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG, DISCIPLES 153 


2. Why has the material and spiritual development 
of South America been neglected? 

3. Name some reasons why we should help the people 
of South America. 

4. Describe the geographical features of Chile and 
tell what you can of its people. 

5. Give some facts concerning the Protestant mis- 
sions of Brazil. 

6. Tell something about the mission work in Co- 
lombia. 

7. Who was Simon Bolivar? Tell something about 
mission work in Venezuela. 


BIBLE VERSES 


Names marelebcten mele cue Piles). ColiiantZ 145 
Matt. 10:24, 25; Luke 12:1; 22:24-26; Rev. 2:19; Gal. 
eh abate feyaley | 

Topics 


1. How God taught Jonah the missionary spirit. Jonah 
et 16aGns.03.¢ 4. 

2. Simon Bolivar, the “Washington of South Amer- 
ica.’ (Look up story of his life in library.) 

3. Why Protestant denominations are justified in 
planting missions in South America. 

4. Ancient civilizations of Ecuador and Peru. (Look 
up information concerning the Incas.) 

5. Products which we receive from South American 
countries. 

6. Ways in which we can help our southern neigh- 
bors. (In education, temperance reform, stable govern- 
ment, building of railroads, and so forth.) 


PRrojyeEcts 


The South American mission stations are in need of 
many things which Intermediate pupils can help to supply. 
A list of materials which may be sent may be found in 
the introductory section of this book. If desirable the 
class may undertake some definite work for some South 
American station and this work may be carried on for at 
least one year. 


CHAP TEREXT 
AFRICA, THE DARK CONTINENT 


WEEK DAY SESSION 


PASSING DARKNESS AND DAWNING LIGHT 
Isat60:12::; John e475 28212 sly Olin ge 


Africa has long been known as the “Dark Continent.” 
There may be a number of reasons why this name has 
been applied to Africa. It is the home of the dark- 
skinned races of the human family, and that may have 
had something to do with the name. For thousands of 
years Africa was,’ for the most part, unexplored and 
unknown. Africa was the continent where civilization 
earliest sprang into existence. Four thousand years be- 
fore the beginning of the Christian era, Egypt was a 
nation with an efficient governmental system and with 
many of the elements of a high civilization. The coasts 
of Africa have been visited by civilized men ever since 
the days of the Phcenicians, but the interior for thou- 
sands of years was a great unknown region. Sir Samuel 
Baker, who discovered the sources of the Nile, died in 
1893. Up to the time of Baker’s discoveries, the Nile 
had been a mysterious river, pouring its abundant waters 
through a scorching desert and coming from out the un- 
known regions of the south. Because Central Africa 
seemed like a dark night into which they could peer with- 
out discovering its secrets, men felt that the name “Dark 
Continent” was fitting. 

But there is a still more important reason why the 
term “Dark Continent” fittingly describes that vast con- 
tinent which we call Africa. It has long been a land of 
spiritual darkness. It has been a land of pagan super- 
stitions, cruel tribal warfare, and degrading tribal cus- 
toms. In Africa, as nowhere else on earth, the horrible 
practice of cannibalism prevailed. And yet the dark 
deeds of the natives have been no more terrible than the 

154 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG,DISCIPLES © 155 


dark deeds of white traders who have invaded Africa for 
the sake of enslaving its black inhabitants or of exploit- 
ing its resources. For centuries Africa suffered as a 
result of the slave trade. Slave hunters made regular 
inroads upon the natives of the interior, and the routes 
over which the captives were driven to the slave markets 
of the coast were strewn with human skeletons bleaching 
in the tropical sun. In regions where the slave hunters 
had recently passed, Livingstone and other early explorers 
found some of the rivers of Africa choked with the 
_ bodies of slain natives. Livingstone dedicated his life to 
the great cause of destroying this traffic. 

The Light Which Africa Needs. The passages of Scrip- 
ture chosen for this lesson tell about the Light which 
Africa needs. The sublime vision of a Hebrew prophet 
discerned the coming of this Light centuries before Jesus 
was born in Bethlehem: “Arise, shine; for thy light is 
come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee. For, 
behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross dark- 
ness the peoples; but Jehovah will arise upon thee, and 
his glory shall be seen upon thee.” 

The disciples of Jesus recognized in their Master the 
Light which the Hebrew prophets had foretold. Jesus 
himself was conscious that he fulfilled these hopes and 
predictions of the prophets. He said of himself, “I am 
the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not 
walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” 
Jesus is the Light which Africa needs to dispel its darkness 
and to make it a continent of light. His teachings con- 
tain the truths needed to abolish the ignorance and super- 
stition which have so long bound the people of Africa 
with fetters of iron. In him there is power to uplift the 
black people to the high estate which belongs to the chil- 
dren of God. Jesus, and Jesus only, gave to the world 
the principles of sympathy, justice, and brotherhood, 
which are able to right all the ancient wrongs of Africa 
and to make the “Dark Continent” a foundation on which 
to build a world-wide Kingdom of God. 

Lights Which Are Shining in the Darkness. If you 
should take a black map of Africa and place upon it a 
little white dot to represent each mission station, 
you would find that the white dots were scattered 


156 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


widely over the map. Such is the present situation in 
Africa. There still remain large sections where the 
natives have never heard of the Christian religion, but 
in every part of the continent there are little centers of 
light from which the gospel message is being spread 
abroad into the heathen areas. It is only a beginning, to 
be sure, the beginning of a task of almost immeasurable 
difficulty, but the situation is full of hope. When Paul 
laid down his life at Rome he had made only a beginning. 
At Ephesus, Philippi, Corinth, and a few other places he 
had planted little islands of light in the midst of pagan 
darkness, but within a few centuries these centers which 
Paul had planted spread the light of the Christian re- 
ligion over the known world. The beginning of the con- 
quest of Africa for Christ has been made, and the con- 
quest will be completed in God’s good time if we do our 
part. 

A People Who Respond Readily to the Gospel. ‘The 
black people of Africa respond readily to the appeal of 
the gospel. They break away from their heathen religion 
much more willingly than do Mohammedans or Bud- 
dhists. The great problem on the mission field is the 
problem of properly instructing those who are candidates 
for Church membership. In some sections the growth 
of the Christian religion has been like a victorious march. 
The largest Presbyterian church in the world is said to 
be at Elat in West Africa. It has grown sixteen hundred 
per cent in sixteen years. If enough missionaries and 
teachers |were sent topmeet thevspiritual) needsvoum a. 
black people of Africa, it seems certain that the Christian 
religion would sweep across the continent within a gen- 
eration, and that Africa would be made safe for Christ 
and his Kingdom. 

Doors of Opportunity Which Are Now Wide Open. 
Ninety per cent of the natives of Africa have come into 
contact with the commercial life of the world. ‘Traders 
have reached them and have bartered with them for their 
ivory, ostrich feathers, copper, and rubber. The natives 
have touched civilization through commerce with the 
white traders. ‘This contact has not been an unmixed 
blessing. White traders have introduced the sins of 
civilization as well as some of its comforts and advan- 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 157 


tages. Nevertheless, these white traders have opened 
the doors of opportunity to the Christian religion. ‘The 
most remote portions of the continent are becoming ac- 
cessible. ‘The danger of native uprisings is past. That 
the organized forces of Christendom have been slow to 
take advantage of these opportunities is shown by the 
fact that less than ten per cent of the natives who have 
come into contact with the commerce of the world have 
heard the gospel in any real way. If the Christian 
Churches are as enterprising as the traders, the evangel- 
ization of Africa will go on at a rapid pace. 


A Brack PRINCE AND His FicHt FoR TEMPERANCE 


One day, many years ago, a little black boy of South 
Africa was wandering about near a group of grass- 
thatched, mud huts, the home village of his tribe. The 
lad saw a man approaching and his keen young eyes soon 
detected something unusual about the visitor. On ap- 
proaching nearer he was astonished to see that the 
stranger was clad in clothing of an unusual kind and 
that his face was fairer than any face he had ever seen 
before. Taking to his heels the boy burst into the vil- 
lage and told the people about the strange person who 
was coming. 

The visitor was David Livingstone. He talked with 
the chief of the tribe and explained that he was a phy- 
sician, showing his medicine chest and offering to min- 
ister to any who might be sick. The little black boy was 
the son of the chief, and he never tired of watching the 
strange visitor. He saw Dr. Livingstone take something 
out of his bundle at night. He had never seen anything 
at all like the object in the hands of the strange white 
man. It had hundreds of pages, and the pages were all 
covered with little black marks. When Khama, for that 
was the boy’s name, learned that this strange object was 
able to speak to the white man without making any 
sound, he was still more amazed. 

In time the little black boy became well acquainted 
with the white doctor. Livingstone taught the lad about 
the Christian religion and he became a professed follower 
of Jesus. The old chief, Khama’s father, refused to ac- 


158’ KINGDOMPTASKS "FOR YOUNG DISCIZEE. 


cept the white man’s religion, and was very angry be- 
cause his son had done so. He tried to make Khama 
take part in the pagan ceremonies of the tribe. When 
Khama refused, the old chief threatened to kill his 
son. Khama had wen the respect of the leading men of 
the tribe, however, and his father feared to carry his 
persecutions too far. 

In time the old chief died and Khama became the head 
of the tribe. Because he was a Christian, he invited the 
missionaries to live in his village and he sought to lead his 
people to the Christian faith. The Kaffir tribes had long 
been accustomed to raise corn and to brew beer from this 
grain. Khama was a reformer. He saw that Kaffir beer 
was not good for his people, and he sought to prohibit 
its manufacture. Khama had well-nigh succeeded in 
stamping out the liquor evil in his tribe when he was 
compelled to go out in battle against the Matabele, a 
warlike tribe which had come up against his people. 

Khama had a younger brother who had refused to 
become a Christian and who was much addicted to the 
drinking of Kaffir beer. While the chief was away bat- 
tling to defend his people this younger brother seized 
the chieftainship and proclaimed a return to the pagan 
ways of other days. Great quantities of beer were quickly 
brewed. The witch doctors whom Khama had driven 
from power came forth again. The lewd pagan dances 
were renewed. As when Moses came down from Sinai, 
Khama on his return found his people returned to pagan- 
ism and in open rebellion against his leadership. His 
quick and heroic action saved the day. Seizing a firebrand, 
he hurled it into the roof of the house where the drunken 
supporters of his usurping brother were gathered. In 
the midst of the confusion of burning huts, with the aid 
of a few followers, he drove some rebels from the village 
and reduced the others to subjection. Then gathering 
his people, he declared that no Kaffir beer should be made 
in the tribe as long as he was chief. 

The brave young chief had won a victory over the rebel 
forces of his own tribe, but other trials awaited him. 
Traders came to his tribe and, being anxious that his 
peopie might have the many advantages of trade with 
the white people, Khama admitted them. In a little 


KINGDOM TASKS FORVWYOUNG DISCIPLES 159 


while the chief discovered that the white traders were 
selling liquor to his people. He went to their stores and 
investigated. He discovered large casks of gin in every 
store. Khama protested and the traders promised to 
bring no more casks of gin into the village. They said 
that “they wished to bring in a few bottles, however, and 
that there was nothing but medicine in the bottles. 

A few days after, Khama discovered that the white 
traders were still supplying liquor to the natives and 
he went again to the stores. He found all the white 
traders gathered in one store in the midst of a drunken 
debauch. When the chief forced his way into the room 
he found some of the traders lying in a drunken stupor 
on the floor. Some of them had been fighting and the 
room was full of wreckage. 

The next day the chief called the traders before him 
and bade them leave his village, never to return. It was 
a heroic stand for the black chief to take, for he knew 
the great power of the interests which iay behind the 
white traders, but he was determined. Neither pleadings 
nor threatenings could move his resolve that the traders 
had to go. 

A few years ago an airplane route across South Africa 
was established. One of the landing fields was laid out 
WIMtHemtectrliorymo! ay Wallir,: tribe: | A vereat) .crowd,as- 
sembled to witness the arrival of the first airplane. As 
the plane came sliding down out of the clouds, a gray- 
haired black man, as straight as a youth of twenty, in 
spite of his eighty-five years, came forward to greet the 
descending officer of the British Army. At sight of the 
old man a great shout of welcome arose from the assem- 
bled throng. That old man was Khama who, as a young 
chief so many years before, had saved his tribe from the 
curse and destruction of drunkenness. He has ruled over 
his people through all the ensuing yéars. He is accus- 
tomed to gather them at sunrise every morning that he 
may lead them in a prayer to the God and Father who has 
sent his Son to be the Light of the world. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “Pen Picture of the West Africa Mission.” Board 
of Foreign Missions. 


1460 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


“Livingstone, the Pathfinder, ” Mathews. 

“African Adventurers,” Mackenzie. 

Livingstone’ s Journal. 

“Personal Life of David Livingstone,” Blaikie. 
“How I Found Livingstone,’ Stanley. 

“Mary Slessor of Calabar,” Livingstone. 
“Uganda’s White Man of Work, * Bahs. 
Sunday- school letters from missionaries in Africa. 
Board of Foreign Missions. 

10. Report of the Board of Foreign Missions; section 
on West Africa missions. 

11. Lantern Slides: ‘“T'ree-Not-Shaken- by-the Wind,” 
a story of Fred Hope’s work at. Hilate(1loeshidés)aamesuie 
Tribe of God in Africa,’ Board of Foreign Missions (76 
slides). 

12. Dramatizations: Dramatize the meeting between 
Stanley and Livingstone. (See Stanley’s “How I Found 
Livingstone,” Livingstone’s Journal, and any life of 
Livingstone.) What would Livingstone be able to tell 
Stanley? What would Stanley tell him of the outside 
world? 

Dramatize the story of the Coming of Ngutu from Jean 
Mackenzie’s “African Adventurers,” Chapter II. It 1s 
reprinted in “Adventures in World Friendship,” p. 61. 


5 OST nt 


SUNDAY SESSION 
CHRIST OR MOHAMMED 


Jesus warned his followers that after his departure false 
Messiahs and false prophets should arise. He predicted 
that many people would be led astray by these false 
teachers. In the seventh century one such false prophet 
arose in Arabia. His name was Mohammed, and the 
religion which he originated is called Mohammedanism, 
or Islam. Mohammedanism is now the rival of Chris- 


tianity in the mission fields of Africa. In order to under- | 


stand the present missionary situation in Africa, it may 
be helpful to glance at the history of the Mohammedan 
religion. 


KINGDOM TASKS: FOR*YOUNG DISCIPLES 161 


The Rise and Spread of Mohammedanism. From its 
small beginning in the deserts of Arabia, Mohammedan- 
ism spread westward into Christian lands. In a few 
years the followers of the Arabian prophet overran Asia 
Minor and Palestine. They swept up to the gates of 
Constantinople, but were unable to break through the 
defenses of that city. Crossing into Egypt they con- 
quered that country and then pushed westward along 
the shores of North Africa. The northern coast of 
Africa had been Christian for many years but the Moham- 
medans swept the Christian Church out of existence as 
they advanced. 

The Mohammedans next crossed over the Straits of 
Gibraltar and conquered Spain. Pressing on through the 
passes of the Pyrenees, they invaded France where they 
encountered the Franks in a furious battle. Had the 
Mohammedans won this battle they would probably have 
overrun all Europe, and it is hard to see how the Christian 
religion could have survived. They were defeated, how- 
ever, and withdrawing across the Pyrenees mountains 
they settled down in Spain, holding sway over the penin- 
sula for many centuries. 

Seven hundred years later the Mohammedans again 
threatened to destroy the Christian religion. This time 
the invaders were Turks instead of Arabs, but the reli- 
gion was the same as before. Constantinople was cap- 
tured during this second outbreak and has remained 
under the domination of the Mohammedans ever since. 
Sweeping on into Europe they penetrated far into the 
interior of Poland. Greece and the Balkan region went 
down before them. Had it not been for the heroic re- 
sistance of men like John Sobieski, the Polish patriot, 
all Europe might have been conquered by the fierce 
Mohammedan Turks. 

During these invasions millions of Christians were 
ruthlessly massacred, as the Mohammedans believe in en- 
forcing their religion with the sword. Some of the con- 
quered people professed the Mohammedan faith and thus 
saved their lives. ‘The Mohammedans spared other Chris- 
tians on the payment of heavy tribute. Some Christian 
nations, like the Armenians, have thus been living many 
centuries under Mohammedan dominion and from time 


162 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


to time have suffered dreadful massacres at the hands 
of their Mohammedan rulers. It will be seen that the 
Christian Church has lost large areas to the Moham- 
medan religion. Asia Minor, Palestine, Egypt, and North 
Africa were once Christian lands. Constantinople, Da- 
mascus, and Cairo were Christian cities, supporting some 
of the strongest churches to be found anywhere. 

The Strongest Line of Mohammedan Advance in the 
World. ‘This religion, before which Christianity has 
given way in former times and to which it has lost so 
much territory, is now the enemy of Christian missions 
in Africa. Mohammedanism is moving steadily south- 
ward across that great interior region called the Sudan. 
Thirty-six per cent of the people of Africa are already 
Mohammedans. Cairo is the great intellectual center 
of that religion. In the preceding lesson we learned that 
the black people of Africa turn readily. to the Christian 
religion. They turn with equal readiness to the Moham- 
medan religion, and once they become followers of the 
false prophet they are exceedingly hard to win for the 
Christian religion. On becoming Mohammedans they 
take on that fierce hatred of the Christian religion which 
has characterized the disciples of Islam during so many 
centuries. 

The King’s Business Requires Haste. It is evident 
from what has been said that a crisis exists to-day in 
Africa. The next few years will probably decide whether 
Christ or Mohammed is to rule in that great continent. 
If the message of Jesus can be brought to the natives 
before they are converted to Mohammedanism, Christi- 
anity will certainly win. If the Christian forces of the 
world fail in this critical hour, Africa will become a 
Mohammedan continent. The Mohammedan forces of 
the world, strengthened by the millions of black people 
in Africa, may menace the very existence of the Christian 
religion as they have done twice before in the history of 
the world. Africa is a mission field where delay means 
loss and danger. 


A Woman WHOo CoNQUERED CANNIBALS 


ff you had lived in Dundee, Scotland, some sixty years 
ago you might have noticed a slender girl going every 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 163 


morning to a factory where cloth was manufactured. 
She went to work at six o’clock in the morning and she 
worked until six o’clock at night. Her name was Mary 
Slessor. She was the daughter ot a poor shoemaker 
and had worked in the factory ever since her father had 
died, for she was the chief breadwinner for a family. Now 
if you had entered the factory where Mary worked, you 
might have noted the fact that she kept a book propped 
up in the corner where she could glance at the open pages 
as she worked. Mary educated herself in this way. One 
of the books most frequently before the girl was a life 
of Livingstone. Out of that book she was drawing 
thoughts day by day, and thoughts are well-nigh the 
most powerful forces in the universe. Her thoughts of 
the heroic African pathfinder helped to make little Mary 
Slessor heroic in soul. She began to dream of going to 
Africa herself that she might spend her life in that dark 
land witnessing for Jesus and the light of his religion. 

Sometimes the minister preached on the missionary 
task of the Church, and then Mary felt more clearly than 
ever that she ought to go to Africa as a missionary. It is 
often so with earnest-souled people. They ponder long 
and deeply over some problem seeking light from God. 
Finally they go into the house of God and there they 
understand. 

A few years later Mary Slessor was a missionary in 
the darkest part of the Dark Continent. She was in the 
Calabar country, a center of cannibalism. One day a 
tired messenger reached the village where Mary Slessor 
was making her home. This messenger had been sent 
by a chief many miles away. The chief was grievously 
ill and had heard of the “Great White Mother” who had 
performed wonderful cures in the country to the south. 
So he had sent one of his servants to ask the missionary 
to come to him. Now Mary Slessor had been long 
enough in Africa to understand the situation. She knew 
that if the chief died many of his wives and servants 
and some of his soldiers would be put to death in order 
that their spirits might accompany the spirit of the chief 
into the world beyond. She knew that not one life but 
many lives depended upon her decision. 

As the rainy season had begun, her friends in the 


1644 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


village said that the journey would be impossible on 
acount of the swollen streams and the swamps. ‘They 
told her of the leopards and other fierce beasts which 
infested the forests and of still more savage men who 
might meet her on the way. ‘To all these objections 
Mary Slessor replied quietly, “I feel that I must go.” 

The next morning she set forth with the messenger 
as her guide. The rain fell in torrents. Mary Slessor’s 
shoes were soon water-soaked and useless. She drew 
them off, threw them into the bush, and went on her 
journey. Her stockings wore out and she waded barefoot 
through swamp and stream. Presently she and her guide 
came into a clearing where hundreds of black people 
were assembled at a kind of market. ‘They passed 
through the crowds unhurt and hastened on. Eight 
hours of continuous travel brought them at last to the 
village of the stricken chief. Many of the people had 
never seen a white woman before and they gathered in 
crowds to gaze on the stranger. 

Making her way through the throng the missionary 
came to the hut of the chief and entered. The chief lay 
on a mat in the center of the room. He had sunk into 
unconsciousness. A great silence fell over the black 
multitudes as through doors and windows they saw the 
“Great White Mother” go to their chief. She examined 
him with the manner of a skilled physician and then took 
a small phial from her medicine case. Taking some power- 
ful drug she administered a portion to the prostrate man. 
In a little while he opened his eyes and then he sat up. 
The amazement of the black people was unbounded. 
They had seen their chief brought back from the shadow 
of death py the skill of the “Great White Mother” and 
they were ready to follow her anywhere. 

The Negroes of Calabar had an ancient tradition that 
the birth of twins into a family indicated some great sin 
on the part of the mother. So they were accustomed to 
persecute the mother of twins. Sometimes they killed 
these innocent women. ‘They always destroyed the twin 
babies, taking them out and throwing them on an ant hill 
to be devoured by the ants. Mary Slessor combated 
this cruel custom with all her might. She rescued scores 
of twin babies and refused to give them up to any chief 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 165 


in the whole region. As years went by these twins 
grew up to manhood and womanhood, so that toward the 
close of her life she had about her a band of stalwart 
young men and young women whom she had rescued 
from the cruel death, which, up to the time of her coming, 
had always been inflicted on any person born a twin. 
On one occasion she came home to Scotland bringing 
four Negro girls whose lives she had preserved. 


THE LESSON PRAYER 


We thank thee, our Father, for the heroic missionaries 
who have carried the gospel into the dark places of the 
earth. We thank thee for what they have accomplished 
and for the example which they have left us. Help us 
to realize the immeasurable importance of the missionary 
enterprise. Forgive us if we have given grudgingly to 
this great cause. We ask in the name of Jesus, thy Son. 
Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. Additional stories concerning missionaries in the 
African field may be found in “The Book of Missionary 
Heroes,” by Basil Mathews; pp. 131-195. 

2. secure a map of Africa or make one and locate the 
mission schools of the different denominations. 


3. How Christianity was first carried into cee, 
Acts 8:26-40. 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 
SPIRITUAL DANGERS OF PROCRASTINATION 
Luke 9:59-62 


To procrastinate is to put off to some future time mat- 
ters which ought to be attended to at once. The habit 
of procrastinating is a great foe to success. ‘The business 
man who never does to-day what he can put off until 
to-morrow seldom succeeds. ‘The successful business 
man is the one who follows the opposite rule and never 


166’ KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


puts off until to-morrow what can be done to-day. ‘The 
rule works in intellectual matters. The man who puts 
off getting an education until he is thirty years of age has 
wasted an opportunity he can never recover, The law 
works in spiritual matters likewise. 

You will remember that when Jesus said to Peter and 
Andrew, “Follow me,” they straightway left their fishing 
nets and followed him. James and John heard the same 
call and they left their father, Zebedee, with the hired 
servants in the boat and followed Jesus. One day Jesus 
said exactly the same words to another man. He called 
him, saying, “Follow me.” It was evidently a call to 
become a disciple just as Peter, Andrew, James, and 
John had become disciples. This man, however, wished 
to have a little time before he responded to the call. He 
said, ‘Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” 
It may be that his father was not really dead, but aged 
and likely to pass away at any time. In any case Jesus 
saw in the man’s attitude an evidence that he was not 
ready to become a disciple. The man probably wished 
to put off the day of decision until he should have time 
to think the matter over. Another person whom Jesus 
called asked permission to go home and take leave of his 
friends. In an Oriental country this leave-taking would 
have consumed some weeks and Jesus saw at once that 
a man who would procrastinate when he had received 
such a call was not fit for the Kingdom of God. i 

This is a matter of much importance to pupils of the 
Intermediate Department. They are at an age when the 
great majority of people make a decision for or against 
the Christian life. They are at an age when to pro- 
crastinate in this matter of life-long importance may 
mean a life lived apart from God and Christ. After the 
age of fourteen the probability of a decision for the 
Christian life constantly decreases. After the age of 
twenty-five there is hardly one chance in a thousand 
that a person will become a Christian if up to that time 
the claims of Christ have been disregarded. 

We have seen that to procrastinate in the matter of 
missions may mean the loss of a great opportunity in 
Africa. The same condition exists to a certain extent in 
ail the great mission fields of the world. If the world 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 167 


is to be won for the religion of Jesus, the Church must 
not put off the day of effort. “Now is the acceptable 
time; . . . now is the day of salvation.” 


SoME Facts To BE DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


Mohammedanism is not only the foe of Christianity, 
but also the foe of democratic government. Moham- 
medan countries have been sadly misruled. 

The whole of Portuguese East Africa is practically 
unoccupied by any missionary force. The natives are in 
far worse condition morally than they were before the 
coming of the white people to their territory. 

In Abyssinia only one tenth of one per cent of the 
children are in school. Egypt has the highest percentage 
of children attending school in any African country, and 
yet only twelve per cent of the Egyptian children are 
enrolled in school. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Why is Africa called the “Dark Continent’? 

2. Why do the people of Africa need the Christian 
religion? 

3. Name some reasons why African missions should 
be pushed vigorously. 

4. Tell of the rise and spread of Mohammedanism. 

5. Tell something about Mary Slessor, the missionary 
to Calabar. 


BIBLE VERSES 


TB Co sO ee ebese/moreMattedal S222-29 Ol olin 
ee el Os 1203) oO eu keulO 41-445 Ds 11950. 60= 
Mcclao.s1 0. 


Topics 


1. Lessons from the parable of the Ten Virgins. 
Matt. 25 :1-13. 

2. Promptness of action a prominent characteristic 
of Jesus. (Read the first chapter of Mark and note 
rapidity of action, and number of times the word 
“straightway” is used.) 


168 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


3. Why young people should not put off the decision 
for the Christian life. . 

4. A good motto for any kind of labor: “Push Your 
W orks Deniteetey our VV orkebusheyoie 

5. What our class can do for African missions to-day. 


PRoyEcts 


Undertake to aid some mission in Africa at once. If 
the work is delayed it may be forgotten and never under- 
taken at all. 


CELA NT Re acL 
DN TAY Gea AND © bE MYSTERY 
WEEK DAY SESSION 


“A LAND OF AN IMMENSE PAST AND OF AN 
IMMENSE FUTURE” 


Isa, 60:15-22 


“In India,” said Max Miller, “you find yourself between 
an immense past and an immense future.” India does 
indeed, possess a civilization which is hoary with age. 
Many of the customs and religious ideals of the Indian 
people have existed since before the beginning of written 
history. ‘This immense past helps to make India a land 
of mystery to people from lands where civilization, com- 
pared with the civilization of India, is young. 

Thoughtful visitors to India are impressed not only 
by its immense past but also with the immense future 
they forsee for the country, when its people shall have 
laid hold on the improvements of Western civilization and 
when their souls shall be enlightened by the religion of 
Jesus. If the three hundred and fifty millions of “people 
in India could be won for the Christian religion, they 
would speedily win the whole world for Christ, for 
they are of a type which become disciples indeed when 
they accept the Christian religion. 

The words of our Scripture lesson were written in a 
dark hour of Israel’s history, yet the great prophet fore- 
saw the time when right should triumph over wrong, 
and when the chosen people would fulfill the glorious task 
to which Jehovah had called them. There is a sense in 
which every race of people on earth are God’s chosen 
people. If we study the history of India, and learn about 
its wonderful people, we shall be convinced that God has 
some great task for the people of India to do in his 
sublime plans for human redemption. 

A Land of Many Peoples and Many Tongues. India, 

169 


170 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


perhaps more than any other country on earth, has been 
swept by successive invasions. Its fertile plains and 
cities of fabulous wealth have made India the goal of 
hordes of adventurers who have from time to time 
swarmed out from the highlands of central Asia. Some- 
time, in the centuries which lay before the dawn of his- 
tory, Aryan tribes closely akin to our own race invaded 
India and subdued the peoples who had dwelt there be- 
fore them. Within historic times Greeks, Mongols, Tar- 
tars, and Saracenic Moguls have poured through the 
mountain passes on the northern border of India and 
have overrun the country. 

It has thus come to pass that India is a land of many 
peoples and of many languages. Some one hundred and 
eighty different languages are spoken and there are about 
a hundred different dialects in addition. There are twelve 
distinct languages, each of which is spoken by more than 
five millions of people. Students of history are agreed 
that the mingling of many different peoples within the 
population of a nation tends to make that nation great in 
thought and life. If this theory holds good for India, it 
ought to become one ot the greatest countries on earth, 
for there is no other land, with the possible exception of 
our own United States, where so many -different types 
of people have been thrown together. In the case of 
India, there has not been, however, that amalgamating 
process which is necessary to bring about the full fruits 
of racial blending. As we shall see a little later, the curse 
of caste has divided the population of India into such 
clearly defined and unchangeable social groups, that all 
progress has been greatly hindered, and any real unity 
made impossible. The supreme need of the people of 
India is to be made one in Christ. 

A People of Great Intellectual Power. The people of 
{India vary a great deal in their intellectual characteristics. 
Some of the aboriginal tribes are still in a state of 
primitive savagery. Other tribes are only partly civil- 
ized. But for thousands of years there have been cul- 
tured people in India. These cultured people have 
thought long and diligentiy on the great problems of life. 
They have gone so deeply into some matters that it is 
very difficult for the mind of a person born in Europe or 
America to follow their thinking. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 171 


Many of the people have been desperately in earnest 
as they sought for an answer to the great problems of 
life. ‘They have sometimes been so earnest that they 
have subjected their bodies to almost unbelievable hard- 
ships, thinking that thus they could exalt their minds and 
souls to a higher plane and a broader view. Sometimes 
one of these seekers after truth will hold his right hand 
high above his head until his arm becomes rigid and 
wholly immovable. Sometimes one of them will journey 
all over the peninsula visiting sacred shrines and travel- 
ing every mile of the way by measuring the roadway with 
his body. That is, he will lie down on the road, putting 
his forehead close to the ground; then rising and putting 
his feet where his forehead had been he will measure 
another length of his body toward his destination, Mule 
after mile and month aiter month he travels on in this 
way. He spends his life measuring the roads after this 
fashion, every prostration a prayer for more light to the 
Infinite One whose presence he feels. His forehead be- 
comes calloused by the millions of times it touches the 
ground. 

All this seems very strange to us, but it shows us the 
tremendous spiritual earnestness of the Indian people. 
When these earnest-souled Hindus become Christians 
they put the same kind of devotion into their new religion 
that they put into their old religion, though they express 
their devotion in a different way. When the people of 
India with their deep and almost mysterious mental 
powers have been won for the religion of Jesus, they 
will enrich the Christianity of the world. Jesus is God’s 
Son and the Revelation of infinite truth. We have not 
yet understood all that he has to reveal to us. Each 
race of mankind sees something in Jesus which other 
races have not discovered, and thus the knowledge of all 
is increased through Christian fellowship. 

The Caste System. In India, race prejudices and social 
prejudices have been allowed to grow for thousands of 
years, and they have resulted in what is called the caste 
system. The population is divided into certain fixed 
groups. The highest group are called the Brahmans. 
These groups will not have anything to do with one 
another if they can avoid it. They will not intermarry. 


172 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


They will not sit at one another’s tables. The lowest of 
all are the pariahs or outcastes, sometimes called the 
“untouchables,” because any person of a higher caste 
refuses to touch one of them. If even the shadow of an 
“untouchable” should fall upon the food of a Brahman, 
he would throw the food to his dogs. ‘Thus each caste 
of the Indian people is cut off from fellowship with any 
but its own people.” Each caste is spurned by people of 
the higher castes and in turn spurns all peopie of a lower 
caste. How terribly opposite is such a system to the 
universal brotherhood taught by Jesus! How completely 
must the heart of a proud Brahman be changed when he 
becomes a follower of Jesus! He has been reared from 
his infancy to look upon the great majority of his fellow 
men as more worthless than the beasts of the field. In 
Jesus he becomes the humble and loving servant of the 
lowest of his fellow men. Such a change helps us to 
understand what Jesus meant when he said, “Ye must 
be born anew.” 

Child Marriage. Another great curse to India is the 
custom of child marriage. ‘Thousands of little girls, 
some of them not over five years of age, are married every 
year. They are thus robbed of the happy childhood 
which God intended for them. They become like little 
slaves, for when they are married the work of a household 
rests for the most part upon them. Married at an age 
when American girls are playing with dolls, these little 
girls of India grow old and die by the time they reach 
the age when most American girls are marrying and set- 
ting up happy homes. 

When the husband of a girl wife of India dies, the lot 
of the little widow is pitiable in the extreme. The super- 
stitions of the Indian people cause them to blame the 
little widow for the death of her husband. She is often 
most shamefully mistreated by her husband’s relatives. 
She is really their slave. Not allowed to marry again 
no matter how long she may live, her whole life is dark- 
ened and wasted by the marriage which was forced upon 
her in the tender years of her childhood. 

A few years ago, a still more dreadful fate awaited 
the child widow. She was compelled to throw herself 
upon the funeral pyre of her husband that she might be 


KINGDOM’ TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 173 


burned to death, and thus her soul would be set free to 
accompany the soul of her husband into the future world. 
This cruel practice has been stopped by the English 
rulers of India. It is not hard to understand what the 
religion of Jesus means for the child widows of India. 

Fabulous Wealth and Wretched Poverty. India is nat- 
urally a rich and fertile country. It could easily sup- 
port its many millions of people if its resources were 
developed and its wealth justly distributed. Neither of 
these conditions exist. The resources of India are but 
imperfectly developed, and its wealth is concentrated in 
the hands of a few people. As a consequence, the most 
fabulous wealth and the most desperate poverty exist 
side by side. Millions of people in India are on the verge 
of starvation continually. A failure of crops means a 
famine and thousands perish for want of food. If the 
civilization of India were made Christian all this would 
disappear. Christianity makes nations enterprising, and 
under the influence of the religion of Jesus the resources 
of India would be developed. True Christianity develops 
a just economic system, wherein the wealth of a country 
is not held by a few people, but distributed among the 
masses. ‘The economic redemption of India awaits the 
coming of the Christian religion. 


MISSIONARY MARTYRS OF INDIA 


It has cost the lives of heroic men and women and the 
lives of children to plant the Christian faith in India. 
In that great future when India is a Christian land mil- 
lions of its people will look back with reverence to those 
who laid down their lives that Christ might be made 
known in India. In 1857 a dreadful mutiny occurred 
among the native troops which had been made a part of 
the English army in India. This rebellion is known as 
the Sepoy or Indian Mutiny. A mission had been estab- 
lished at Fathigarh some years before the Sepoy Mutiny. 
When the rebellion came, this mission was quickly cut 
off from all outside aid. Eight missionaries with two 
little children fell into the hands of the mutinous soldiers. 
These ten, with a band of native Christians, were marched 
from Fathigarh to Cawnpore where all were put to death. 


174. KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNGEDISCI Mia: 


As the captives were held at Cawnpore, Mrs. Freeman, 
one of the little band, wrote some farewell messages to 
friends in America. The following is an extract from 
one of the letters she wrote: 

“We are in God’s hands, and we know that he reigns. 
We have no place to flee for shelter but under the covert 
of his wings, and there we are safe. Not but that he may 
suffer our bodies to be slain. If he does, we know that 
he has wise reasons for it. I sometimes think our deaths 
would do more good than we would do in all our lives; 
if so, his will be done. Should I be called to lay down 
my life, most joyfully will I die for him who laid down 
hisslifesforemes: 

The early Christians said that “The blood of the mar- 
tyrs is the seed of the Church.” The truth of this saying 
was manifest when in the years after the Sepoy rebellion 
the people of India began to turn to the Christian religion 
in great numbers. During the years it has become in- 
creasingly evident that Mrs. Freeman and her companions 
did not die in vain. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LEsson MATERIALS 


1. Report of Foreign Mission Board. 

2. “Pen Picture ofthe North India Mission sboanu 
of Foreign Missions. (Five cents.) 

3. “Pen Picture’ of the Punjab Massion: @eboaramar 
Foreign Missions. (Five cents.) 

4. “Pen Picture of the West India Mission.” Board 
of Foreign Missions. (Five cents.) 

5. “India on the March,’ Alden Clark. 

6. ei ndiatonithe March =| Rroorams: 

7. “Building with India,” Daniel J. Fleming. 

8. “The Gospel and the Plow,” Sam Higginbottom. 

9, “The Career of a Cobbler,’ Margaret Applegarth. 

10. “India, Beloved of Heaven,” Brenton T’. Badley. 

11. Picture Sheets: “Every Day in India’; “India’s 
Boys and Girls.” : 

12, Lantern Slide Lectures: “India: Her Heritage 
and Handicaps” (85 slides). 

“Our Church at Work in India” (78 slides). 

“Two of India’s Children” (26 slides). 

“Govind’s Great Opportunity” (25 slides). 


KINGDOM TASKSyFORSYOUNG DISCIPLES. 75 
SUNDAY SESSION 
WHITENING HARVESTS 


John 4:27-42 


“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh 
the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, 
and look on the fields, that they are white already unto 
harvest.”” These words were spoken by Jesus to his 
disciples as they sat at their noonday meal by Jacob’s 
well in Samaria. ‘The disciples had returned from the 
village where they had gone to buy food. If they had 
been asked whether Samaria was a promising region in 
which to preach the gospel, they doubtless would have 
said that it was a very unpromising field. They probably 
bought their food at some small Jewish shop in the 
village and spoke to no Samaritan. Jesus, however, had 
been talking with a Samaritan woman. He had found 
her very responsive to the gospel message. He could see 
that many in that Samaritan village were hungering and 
thirsting after righteousness. Jesus and his disciples 
spent two days in the village, and many of the Samaritans 
accepted Jesus as the Messiah and Saviour of the world. 

Something similar to what has been narrated of Jesus 
and his disciples is happening in our country to-day. 
People who are not interested in missions and who con- 
sequently know Ittle about what is being done by the 
missionaries sometimes think that it is a waste of money 
and of lives to carry on missionary work in lands lke 
India and China. People who are deeply interested in 
the work of missions and who are doing something to 
make the whole world Christian are apt to feel as Jesus 
did when he spoke of the whitening harvests as he sat 
by Jacob’s well. They believe that we are just at the 
beginning of a great harvest in foreign mission fields and 
that we shall reap abundantly if we are faithful in this 
time of opportunity. 

Increasing Momentum of Indian Missions. The con- 
version of a country like India to the Christian religion 
is an undertaking of such vast difficulties that we need 
not be surprised to learn that Christianity makes slow 


176 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


progress at first. A great steamship weighing thousands 
of tons moves so slowly at first that you can hardly tell 
that it is moving at all, but when it gains momentum it 
moves with almost irresistible force. It is thus with 
Christian missions in India. The first missionaries la- 
bored for years without a single convert. Of late, the 
movement toward Christianity has become more rapid 
and more. irresistible. Within the past twenty years, 
thirty times as many people accepted Christianity in 
India as had accepted it in the preceding sixty years. 
There are many indications that if the missionary enter- 
prise is pushed with vigor the movement toward the 
Christian religion will surpass the fondest dreams of the 
early missionaries. 

Mass Movements Among Outcaste Peoples. In recent 
years it has happened many times that whole villages of 
the outcaste people of India have turned to Christ as one 
body. Shut off from fellowship with the rest of human- 
ity, despised, cheated, and oppressed, these poor children 
of the heavenly Father find in the gospel of Jesus a great 
light in their darkness. Compelled to do the most debas- 
ing tasks generation after generation and looked upon by 
all outside of their own caste as more worthless than the 
dogs of the streets, these outcaste people had sunk very 
low. ‘They were without hope and without self-respect. 
When they heard about the Son of God, who came to give 
his life for even such as they, and when they learned that 
in the teachings of Jesus every child of God is of ines- 
timable value, they began to lay hold upon that hope and 
self-respect which they lost so long ago under the cruel 
caste system. It is little wonder that when they hear 
that education, and the worship of God, and a just portion 
of the good things of the world are for them, they turn 
by whole communities to the Christian faith. 

Criminal Tribes Reformed. In certain portions of In- 
dia there are groups of people which have long been 
known as “criminal tribes.” They have lived by plunder- 
ing the people of prosperous sections near their own 
mountain fastnesses. The English have often waged war 
against these outlaws, but they have continued their 
raids as soon as the troops were withdrawn. It seemed as if 
the only way to get rid of them was to exterminate them. 


KINGDOM ‘TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 177 


Missionaries have gone among these wild tribes and 
have had some remarkable successes. Whole tribes have 
been transformed from wild marauders into a peaceful 
and industrious community by the preaching of the 
gospel. The savages who went forth to rob and to slay 
are now going forth to tell neighboring tribes about the 
Prince of Peace who has transformed their lives. 

Mahatma Gandhi and the Cross of Christ. The people 
of India call a religious teacher a “mahatma.” <A few 
years ago a man named Gandhi was going about over 
all India teaching. He claimed to be a Brahman, but 
he had gathered a great many of his ideas from Christian 
missionaries. He was aman of kind and gentle spirit and 
taught people of the higher castes that they ought not to 
treat the low-caste people cruelly. He was an admirer 
of “the good old times” which existed before the Euro- 
peans came to India. Hence he tried to get the people of 
India to return to the old ways of life. He urged them 
to discard the use of American petroleum and to use in- 
stead the little grease-burning lamps of their forefathers. 
He urged the people to return to their hand looms that 
they might make the cheap cloth with which their an- 
cestors were clad. He iooked upon the automobile, the 
steam train, and the telephone as agencies for keeping 
the people of India in dire poverty. 

His policy was certainly grievously mistaken, for even 
in India the wheels of progress cannot be turned back 
with any real benefit for the people. He was, however, 
such an earnest and sweet-spirited teacher that he was 
widely beloved by the people in all parts of the peninsula. 
Gandhi's activities finally brought him into conflict with 
the government and he was cast into jail. Strange as it 
may seem, Gandhi's imprisonment seems to have turned 
the minds of many people to the Christian religion. 
Heretofore the doctrine of the cross seems to have been 
a stumblingblock to the people of India. The thought 
of Jesus suffering for the sins of the world had been 
hard for them to understand. But when their beloved 
teacher was arrested, tried, and imprisoned they seemed 
to catch glimpses for the first time of the meaning of the 
cross. Missionaries have stated that the Gandhi affair has 
been a decided benefit to the cause of missions in India. 


178 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


A Troubled People Whose Hearts Are Not at Rest. We 
are told that when the Wise Men came to Jerusalem say- 
ing, “Where is he that is born king of the Jews?” Herod 
was troubled “and all Jerusalem with him.” The word 
“troubled” translated means agitated, or tossed to and 
fro, as when a tree is tossed in a tempest, or when the 
sea is stirred by a storm. ‘To-day the vast millions 
crowded within the peninsula of India are troubled in 
this sense. Their hearts are agitated; their souls longing 
for something which they but dimly discern. The tri- 
umph of Japan over Russia in the conflict between those 
two powers awakened a new spirit in the people of India. 
They began to dream of freedom from foreign rule, of a 
mighty Indian nation which should take its place among 
the nations of the earth. 

The World War has increased the unrest of India. 
Thousands of her sons went to the battlefields of France, 
Turkey, and Mesopotamia. They returned with new 
ideas which are acting as a ferment within the vast 
multitudes of the country. Gandhi's dream of a return 
to the good old times can never come true, for India is 
awakening and facing toward the future. India is on the 
march, but what her destination shail be will depend to 
a very great extent on the missionary forces which are 
being brought to bear upon her. It is a critical hour for 
India, an hour of change in ideas which are ages old, an 
opportunity to bring to her the Light of men and of 
nations, 


LookiIne Across T0 FORBIDDEN FIELDS 


Afghanistan is a country lying on the northern border 
of India. The Atghans are fanatical Mohammedans and 
no missionary has ever been permitted to enter their 
territory. Hardy pioneer missionaries, however, have 
pushed through the Punjab region of India and have 
planted outposts of the Christian Church on the very 
borders of Afghanistan. It was in this way that the mis- 
sionaries gained entrance to the Punjab. They settled 
down on the borders of that district and stayed there 
ten years before they were permitted to enter that part 
of India. 

Kev. Isador Lowenthal undertook to bear the gospe: 


KINGDOM PASKSPFORTYOUNG DISCIBIUBS 9179 


into the forbidden fields of Afghanistan. He was not 
allowed to cross the border. Nothing daunted, he estab- 
lished himself in the Northern Punjab and began the 
study of the Afghan dialect. In a little while he mastered 
that tongue as he was already proficient in five other 
languages and some of these were closely related to the 
language of the Afghans. Then he began to translate 
the New Testament into the language of Afghanistan. 
In ten years he had completed the task. He had, more- 
over, come into contact with many of the Afghans and was 
gradually winning their respect. He might have suc- 
ceeded in gaining an entrance to the forbidden field, had 
he not been accidentally killed. 

Sixty years have passed since Lowenthal died on the 
borders of Afghanistan and the doors of that nation are 
still closed to the gospel. ‘There are signs, however, 
that the way may soon be opened for missionaries to 
enter that land. On the western border of Afghanistan 
other missionaries have been laying siege to that for- 
bidden nation for many years. These missionaries have 
established a large medical work in Persia and many 
Afghans have crossed over the border to avail themselves 
of the help of the Christian physicians. Now there is 
a growing demand among the Afghans that medical 
missionaries be admitted to their country. 


Tuer Lesson PRAYER 


Our Father in heaven, we thank thee that heroic mis- 
sionaries brought the gospel of Jesus to our ancestors 
many centuries ago. We would manifest our gratitude 
for this blessing by sending this same gospel to those 
who to-day sit in darkness. We ask thee to bless those 
who are giving their lives to missionary work in India. 
Grant that the time may speedily come when that great 
country shall be won for the Christian faith. We ask in 
the name of Jesus, the Saviour of the world. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. Missionary letters for Sunday schools. (May be 
obtained from Woman’s Board of Foreign Missions.) 


180 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


2. India mentioned in the Bible. FEisth. 1:1; 8:9. 
3. The religions of India. (Look up articles in en- 
cyclopedia on Buddhism, Brahmanism, Mohammedan- 


ism.) 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 
RISKING THE LOSS OF ALL THINGS* FOR CHRIS S 
Mark 8:31-38; Phil. 3:8-11 


It is evident that Jesus set high value on that spirit 
of noble venturesomeness which is willing to risk the 
loss of all things for a worthy cause. He promised his 
disciples no temporal rewards and worldly honors. On 
the other hand he told them that they would be de- 
spised, persecuted, and put to death. When Jesus looked 
into the face of the rich young ruler Jesus loved him 
and longed to have him as a disciple, but he would not 
accept the youth as one of his disciples so long as he 
was unwilling to give up his wealth for the good of 
the Kingdom. Paul said that he suffered the loss of 
all things that he might gain Christ. He sacrificed his 
standing as a leader of the Jewish nation. He became 
an outcast from his family. He gave up comfort, and 
the enjoyment of a scholarly life, and the fellowship 
of his friends. Not very long after he wrote the words 
we are studying, he laid down his life for the cause of 
Christ. 

Not all Christians are called upon to give up as much 
as Paul did, but they can all have that spirit of devo- 
tion which is willing to risk the loss of all things for 
their Lord. If we study the greatest characters of 
history we shall find that they had a spirit of noble 
venturesomeness. They were willing to risk their all 
for the right. It was this that made Luther great. He 
was willing to risk his reputation, his personal ambi- 
tions, and his life, for the truth as he saw it. Living- 
stone was willing to leave his family in Scotland and to 
journey to the unexplored regions of Africa. He knew 
that sickness might come to his home while he was 


KINGDOM TASKS FORT YOUNG DISCIPLES 1181 


absent. He knew that the natives might slay him or 
the fever smite him in Africa. He took great risks and 
he knew he took them. He was willing to take them 
because the cause to which he had devoted his life seemed 
worthy of such sacrifices and such risks. 

People do not suddenly develop heroic venturesome- 
ness such as Luther or Livingstone possessed; nor are 
they born with the spirit of sacrifice ready-made within 
them. They acquire it. The boy who will risk being 
unpopular with his playmates rather than compromise 
his ideals is building a spirit of heroic venturesomeness 
which will help him to become a man of the Livingstone 
type. The country girl who leaves her home in order 
to get an education and who is dreaming of a useful 
life for the years ahead has-a spirit of noble venture- 
someness which will help her to greatness of character. 


SomME Facts To BE DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


Some years ago an Indian prince became a Christian. 
He was disowned by his father and driven from his native 
city by the angry citizens of the kingdom. He lost the 
chance to become king and became a poor man in order 
to gain fellowship with Christ. | 

According to the latest available statistics eighty-nine 
per cent of the men of India and ninety-nine per cent 
of the women can neither read nor write. 

A rigorous law punishes with death any person pro- 
fessing Christianity in Afghanistan. The Bible, how- 
ever, has gone where Christians have not been allowed 
to go. Afghan traders bought nearly two thousand 
Bibles at a mission station in Persia, in 1917. It is to 
be hoped that the entrance of the Word into Afghanistan 
will give light. 

REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. How has it come to pass that so many different 
classes of people live in India and that so many different 
languages are spoken there? 

2. Describe the caste system. 

3. Why has the caste system been a curse to India? 

4. Name some ways in which Christianity will be a 
blessing to India. 


182 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


5. Tell something of the mass movements toward the 
Christian religion. 

6. Who is Mahatma Ghandi? 

7. Why has India become a land of restlessness and 
discontent? 


BIBLE VERSES 


Deut..llel314; Josh. 227558 Satie) 20 ene 
14:78 ft Chron.12:333 LE Chrony 1512 3 iat an oe 
2p OSS eR CNet POOL. 


Topics 


1. Some risks which Jesus took in order to carry on 
his work. (Called a publican to be a disciple;) went 
to Bethany to raise Lazarus when Jews were seeking 
to kill him; drove money changers from the Temple.) 

2. Why the life of a missionary demands a spirit of 
noble venturesomeness. 

3. Risks which the Hebrew prophets took. (Look up 
facts concerning Jeremiah, Amos, and other prophets.) 

4. The spirit of noble venturesomeness with which 
the apostles began their work. Acts, chs. 3; 4. 

5. Some things an Intermediate boy or girl may have 
to sacrifice in order to live a noble and useful life. 

6. Is America in danger of developing a caste system? 

7. Why the present is a time of great opportunity for 
Indian missions. 


PROJECTS 


The class should undertake to help some school or 
mission station in India. The Board of Foreign Mis- 
sions will be glad to put the pupils in touch with needy 
fields and to give suggestions as to what may be done. 


CHAPTER XIII 
CHINA, A VAST AND ANCIENT NATION 
WEEK DAY SESSION 


THE OLD CHINA WHICH IS PASSING AWAY 
sek, CES pea) 


Most Bible students believe that “the land of Sinim,” 
used in the passage of Scripture selected as a basis for 
this lesson, refers to China. If so, it is the only time 
China is mentioned in the Bible. Isaiah was speaking 
of a golden age when the nations of the earth should 
learn about the God of the Jews and should become his 
worshipers. The faith of the prophet made him sure 
that there, upon the rugged and barren highlands of 
Judea, God would reveal himself in such a way as to 
draw all mankind into a universal brotherhood of wor- 
ship andjservice.. — Lhus'saith Jehovah, | 2°. Iowill make 
all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be ex- 
alted. Lo, these shall come from far; and, lo, these from 
the north and from the west; and these from the land 
of Sinim. Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and 
break forth into singing, O mountains: for Jehovah hath 
comforted his people.” 

We who live to-day can see how the prophecy of Isaiah 
is being fulfilled. On the mountains of Judah and Gali- 
lee, Jesus lived and taught. He revealed the exalted 
way of life which will make all mankind brothers to 
one another and worshipers of the one true God. Every 
year from the North and the West and even from “the 
land of Sinim,”’ Christian believers who have come to 
know God through his Son make pilgrimages to Pales- 
tine that they may look upon the very hills their Saviour 
trod. Every year in far-away Sinim hundreds who are 
not able to visit Palestine are finding the exalted high- 
way which Jesus revealed. Isaiah’s prophecy is being 
fulfilled to-day as never before. 

183 


184 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


The Oldest Nation on Earth. China is probably the 
oldest nation in the world. Its history extends back in 
one unbroken line for thousands of years before the 
beginning of the Christian era. It has had a continuous 
existence as a nation through all these centuries. Egypt 
and Chaldea may have come into a civilized state as 
early as China, but they have had'no such unbroken 
history as China has had. There is no nation to-day 
which is in any real sense the descendant of ancient 
Chaldea. The Egypt of to-day is only remotely related 
to the Egypt of 4000 B. C. But in China the same race 
of people have continued to make up the bulk of the 
nation’s population century after century. China has 
suffered foreign invasions from races lke the Manchus, 
but these invasions have never terminated the previously 
existing national life as have the invasions in other lands. 
The Chinese have absorbed the invaders into their own 
national life instead of succumbing to the customs and 
influences of the newcomers. Dynasties have changed 
and governmental organizations have crumbled, but the 
real China has gone on scarcely influenced in any deep 
way by these experiences. 

The Largest Group of Homogeneous People in the 
History of the World. By saying that the Chinese are 
a homogeneous people, we mean that they are much alike 
wherever you find them, that they are of a similar racial 
origin no matter where they may happen to dwell. The 
four hundred million Chinese are the largest group of 
people of one type ever assembled in the history of the 
world. Their country is likewise the largest in the world, 
with the exception of the Russian dominions. 

A Nation Which Tried to Wall Itself In. For thane 
sands of years the civilization of China was surrounded 
on every side by the darkest sort of barbarism. The 
Chinese sought to fence their nation against the evil 
influences and the perils of the surrounding barbarism, 
They built a great wall running for hundreds of miles 
over mountains and valleys that they might keep out 
the Tartars. They sought to live without any contact 
with other countries. Within their vast territory stretch- 
ing from the tropics into the colder portions of the tem- 
perate zone, they could produce food and materials to 


KINGDOM IPASKS FORVYOUNG DISCIPLES” ¥185 


meet all their needs. This isolation, probably a neces- 
sary policy in the early centuries of the nation’s exist- 
ence, was continued by China until very recent times. 
China, as a nation, has now abandoned it and this ancient 
nation is in the midst of adjusting itself to conditions 
that are new and confusing. The ancient empire has be- 
come a republic. Customs ages old are being laid aside. 
In our next lesson we are to learn about the new China 
which is coming into existence as a result of the aban- 
donment of the policy of exclusion which was so long 
the ruling principle of Chinese national life. 

A Vigorous, Intelligent, and Industrious Race. All 

who really know the Chinese declare them to be a great 
people. Their culture has dominated Asia for many 
centuries. They are physically hardy. Physicians de- 
clare that Chinamen often survive operations and sick- 
nesses which would be certainly fatal to white people. 
Chinese coolies will carry burdens of more than a hun- 
dred pounds for forty miles over rugged mountain trails, 
making the journey between sunrise and sunset. Their 
intellectual capacity is not less than that of the. white 
race. They are proverbially honest and industrious. 
They have developed the art of agriculture until they 
are to-day raising more food per acre of cultivated ground 
than any other people in the world. 
Vast Resources in Men and Materials. In man power 
China is far ahead of any other nation in the world. The 
natural increase of her more than four hundred million 
people is something amazing when we stop to think of 
it. It is estimated that within the next thirty years the 
natural increase of populaticn in China will amount to 
more than 100,000,COO0 people, as large a number of 
human beings as we have to-day in all the United States. 
By the close of the present century China will have a 
population of 800,000,000, if her population continues to 
grow at its present rate of increase. 

In material resources China is well-nigh the richest 
country in the world. China has vast deposits of both 
hard and soft coal—ten thousand million tons, it is esti- 
mated. There is both hard and soft coal in every prov- 
ince. Iron is also abundant. ‘There are extensive oil 
fields. The great rivers of China have almost immeas- 


186 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


urable water power which is, as vet, wholly unused. 
What China is likely to become as an industrial country 
is hard for us to comprehend because her natural re- 
SOUTCES:arelso ereat: 

A Written Language Using Forty Thousand Char- 
acters. China very early developed a written language, 
but the method of writing was so extremely difficult 
that very few peopleever learned to read and write. There 
are more than forty thousand characters in the ancient 
written language of China. That is, in order to learn to 
read and write, the Chinese boy or girl had to learn how 
to: make and to recopnizevat' sight every, onemomericee 
thousands of characters. Some American chiidren have 
considerable trouble in learning the English alphabet 
with its twenty-six letters. The task of the Chinese 
child was like learning 16,000 alphabets such as ours. 

Within the past few years, under the inspiration of 
Western methods, the Chinese have invented a new 
alphabet of thirty-nine letters, and with this new sys- 
tem an ignorant Chinese peasant can learn to read or 
write in five or six weeks. The new alphabet is a key 
which will unlock the world’s literature to the millions 
of Chinese to whom such literature has heretofore been 
a hidden treasure. 

Scattered Remnants of Aboriginal Tribes. We have 
spoken of the Chinese as a homogeneous race, and so 
they are, but there are a few people livingeinm@iiae 
who are not Chinese. The people of whom we are 
speaking are not the newcomers, the Europeans and the 
Americans. They have lived in China longer than the 
Chinese have lived there. They are the descendants of 
the aboriginal inhabitants of the country. They live 
among the Chinese much as the American Indians live 
among us. By the term “aborviginal” we mean the first 
known inhabitants of a country. These aboriginal peo- 
ples are of great interest to most people, since they 
represent races belonging to an almost unimaginably dis- 
tant past. On one little corner of the Spanish peninsula 
live the Basques. They are a remnant of a race which 
occupied most of Europe before the dawn of history. In 
the Kurile Islands north of Japan live the Ainu, a pecu- 
liar people and a remnant of a race which once occupied 


LINGO M TASKS  FORPY.OUNG DISCIPLES) 3137 


the Japanese Islands and portions of the adjoining main- 
land. 

The aboriginal inhabitants of the island of Hainan 
are called the Li. They have been pushed into the 
southern mountainous sections of the island by the in- 
vading Chinese. Missionaries have recently gone among 
the Li and other aboriginal peoples of China and have 
found them responsive to the gospel in a very marked 
degree. There is something wonderful in the fact that 
these primitive peoples, who have held to their age-old 
superstitions through countless generations, are now 
emerging into the blessed light of the gospel of Jesus. 


THOSE -WuHo Have SEEN AND GREETED Gop’s PROMISES 
FROM AFAR 


The eleventh chapter of The Epistle to the Hebrews 
tells us about some Old Testament heroes of the faith. 
After naming Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
the author said, ‘These all died in faith, not having re- 
ceived the promises, but having seen them and greeted 
them from afar.” God promised Abraham that in him 
and in his seed all the nations of the earth should be 
blessed. He renewed the promise to Isaac and Jacob. 
Nonemot these menvlivedeto see,the fulfillment of the 
promise, but in faith they looked forward to that coming 
day of blessing. They believed it would come. They 
greeted it with loyal hearts. They prayed and worked 
for its coming. 

Those who have worked for the establishment of God’s 
Kingdom in the world have worked in the same way that 
the Old Testament heroes of faith worked. This was 
especially true of the early missionaries to foreign coun- 
tries. They were sustained by a faith that the gospel 
would draw pagan people into the Christian faith and 
thus transform pagan nations. Some of these early mis- 
sionaries did not live to see much effect from their work. 
They did not “receive” the promises of God in the sense 
of that term as it is used in The Epistle to the Hebrews. 
They did, however, have an unfaltering trust in God’s 
promises; they saw and “greeted them from afar.” 

Robert Morrison, the first Protestant missionary to 


188 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


China, was sent out by the London Missionary Society 
in 1807. He settled in southern China and carried on 
his work amid constant peril. Chinese law decreed the 
death sentence for what he was doing, but he kept on. 
He labored in one little spot in south China for twenty- 
seven years and there he died. During his life he had 
made hardly any converts, and at his death the proba- 
bility of reaching the Chinese with the gospel seemed 
practically as remote as it had been when he first came 
Omit 

During these twenty-seven years Robert Morrison 
learned the Chinese language and the ancient system | 
of writing so that he became master of both. He trans- 
lated the Bible into the Chinese tongue, doing most of 
the work himself. He also wrote a Chinese-English dic- 
tionary in fifteen volumes. His work was one of the 
most colossal intellectual accomplishments of history, 
and it opened the way for missions to China on a wide 
and permanent basis. What enabled Robert Morrison 
to do his great task under what seemed to be such dis- 
couraging conditions? It was faith; faith in the prom- 
ises of God and faith in the gospel of Jesus. He did not 
see much of the fulfillment of God’s promises. He saw 
them and greeted them from afar. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIAL, 


1. “Pen Pictures of the South China and Hainan Mis- 
sions.” Board of Foreign Missions. 

2. “Pen Pictures of the Shantung Missions.” Board 
of Foreign Missions. . 
“Pen Picture of the Central China Mission.” 
“Foreign Magic,” Cochran. 
“The Bells of the Blue Pagoda,” Cochran. 
“China and Modern Medicine,” Balme. 
“China’s Real Revolution,’ Hutchinson. 
“A Memorial of Horace Tracy Pitkin,” Speer. 
“The Development of China,” Latourette. 

lO. Wihen ili Wasiay Boysin’ Ching ieeel 
ey i “Pen Pictures of the Hunan and Kiangan Mis- 
sions. 

12. “Pen Picture of the North China Mission.” 


pe en ee 


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VNIHD NI ONILVYANILI SHO AUVNOISSIN V NAHM 





KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 189 


Pore China, Post Cards: 9 >(Hightsin:set,:;beautitully 
printed.) 

14. Lantern Slides: “Young China’s Problems” (73 
slides). 


SUNDAY SESSION 


THE NEW CHINA’ WHICH -IS COMING INTO 
EXISTENCE 


Jer. 31 :31-34 


Our Scripture lesson is Jeremiah’s great prophecy con- 
cerning the new covenant. Jeremiah lived during the 
last days of the Kingdom of Judah. He was in Jerusa- 
lem when the Babylonian armies were hammering at the 
walls. He saw the Holy City sink in fire and looked 
upon the surviving inhabitants as they were driven away 
toward Babylon. And yet Jeremiah’s faith kept him 
from despair concerning the nation. He could not be- 
lieve that the chosen people had lost their land forever. 
He believed that God would yet fulfill his promises to 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His clear spiritual vision 
enabled him to understand why these great disasters had 
come upon the Hebrews. It also enabled him to predict 
that God would make another covenant or agreement 
with his people, and that in this new relationship the 
Hebrews would come to know Jehovah better than they 
had ever known him before. 

We believe that Jeremiah’s prophecy began to be ful- 
filled with the coming of Jesus. Through Jesus men 
enter into the new covenant with God which Jeremiah 
foresaw. It is through accepting Jesus as the Messiah 
that the Hebrew people will at last come into that spirit- 
ual condition where God can use them for the establish- 
ment of his Kingdom on earth. Something of the same 
kind is true of all races and all nations. God has some 
great task for the ancient nation of China. Through 
Jesus, China will enter into the new and perfect rela- 
tionship with God which will make her a mighty power 
for the establishment of a universal kingdom of right- 


1909 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


eousness and brotherhood on earth. It is the goal ot 
Chinese missions to bring this vast and ancient nation 
into line with the plans of the Almighty. 

The Industrial Revolution in China. A hundred years 
ago there was just beginning in Europe and America 
what has come to be called ‘“‘the industrial revolution.” 
Machines had just been invented, which would do the 
work of hundreds of men. Factories were being built 
where many workers would labor together. Companies 
were being organized to carry on manufacturing enter- 
prises on a scale hitherto unknown. These changes af- 
fected the life of the people profoundly. Up to this time 
workmen had labored side by side with their employers. 
Each workman usually looked forward to the time when 
he himself would become an employer. Sometimes the 
workman carried on his task at home, where his children 
were his helpers. 

The industrial revolution quickly changed all this. 
The workman found himself laboring for a great cor- 
poration with whose directors he had no sort of acquaint- 
ance. He found himself compelled to labor for long 
hours in a factory for meager pay and without any def- 
inite way to seek better conditions for himself and his 
family. Out of these conditions have grown strikes and 
other labor disturbances. The problems growing out of 
the industrial revolution in Europe and America have 
not yet been solved completely, but the spirit of Chris- 
tian brotherhood which exists, at least to some extent, 
in lands where there are Christian churches, has helped 
to solve these problems in part, and there is hope that a 
full solution may be found in the same way. 

China is just entering an industrial revolution. Mod- 
ern machinery is being introduced. Great factories are 
being built. Corporations are being formed to carry on 
manufacturing enterprises on a large scale. ‘The troubles 
which arose in America and Europe are beginning to 
appear in China. As yet but little influenced by the prin- 
ciples of brotherhood and service which are the founda- 
tions of the Christian religion, Chinese industry threatens 
to become a terrible system of oppression and destruc- 
tion to the working people of China. Already many 
women and children are laboring from fourteen to six- 


KINGDOM TASKS FORS YOUNG DISCIDPEERSs 7191 


teen hours a day in the factories of China. They receive 
only a few cents a day for their labor, and in many cases 
the children receive no pay at all, just the poor food 
which is necessary to keep them alive. In some Chinese 
cities you can hear the weeping of scores of little Chinese 
boys and girls, some of them not over five years of age, 
who are being driven to their tasks in the factories before 
the break of day. The owners of these factories are 
growing rich out of the labor of these children. There 
is nothing in their religion to cause them to turn away 
from such methods of business. They worship their 
ancestors of four thousand years ago. ‘They have never 
been taught to see God in the innocent face of a child, or 
to hear his voice when children cry. They have never 
known him who said that a man had better have a mill- 
stone tied to his neck and be cast into the sea than to 
cause one little child to stumble. 

What will China become without the religion of Jesus? 
Her coal, iron, petroleum, and water power will make her 
one of the greatest industrial nations on earth. But what 
about her working people? What will become of them 
if Chinese industry is built on ideals which are wholly 
pagan, utterly untouched by the ideals of Jesus? 

A Twentieth-Century Renaissance. The word “renais- 
sance” means a new birth. It is applied to that period 
of European history during which various nations of 
Europe were rediscovering the learning of Greece and 
Rome, learning which had been almost forgotten during 
the period known as the “Dark Ages.” Those who are 
in close touch with China say that a twentieth-century 
renaissance is taking place in that country, and that it is 
more far-reaching than the Renaissance which occurred 
in EKurope so long ago. ‘More people are affected, they 
say, by the twentieth-century renaissance in China than 
were affected by the Renaissance in Europe. 

The Chinese are laying hold upon the science, history, 
and philosophy of other lands. They are eagerly exam- 
ining the religions of other peoples, the Christian religion 
along with the others. This awakening of the Chinese 
mind is bringing to Christianity an opportunity such as 
the Church has hardly faced before in any century of its 
history. 


192 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


The Critical Period of the Chinese Republic. Most 
pupils who study these lessons will know that the period 
of American history which extends from the close of 
the Revolutionary War to the adoption of the Constitu- 
tion is called “the critical period of American history.” 
It is so named because our nation was then passing 
through very grave dangers. A strong national govern- 
ment had not been established. Some of the states were 
jealous of other states. ‘There was danger lest our coun- 
try continue to be weak and divided. Republics often 
pass through such a period. In a recent lesson we saw 
that it took Colombia fifty years to become a fairly 
strong and united nation. 

China became a republic some years ago and is still in 
this critical period. No strong central government has 
yet been established. The military governors of the dif- 
ferent provinces usually do as they please and sometimes 
they wage war upon one another. There are signs that 
the Chinese Republic will emerge from its critical period 
with a strong government able to secure safety for all 
its citizens, but China needs the help of other nations 
that this goal may be attained speedily. 

Looking to America for Ideals and Guidance. Most 
Chinamen have a deep respect and genuine admiration 
for our country. They believe that America is a true 
friend to China. They remember that when certain Eu- 
ropean countries were grabbing portions ot Chinese 
territory a few years ago, the United States was not 
taking part in the game of “grab.” They remember that 
it was the firm stand of America that put a stop to the 
seizing of Chinese territory. They remember that after 
the Boxer Uprising the United States played fair with 
China by returning many millions of dollars which were 
not needed to pay the claims of American citizens against 
China. Consequently the Chinese look to America as 
their friend. Their republic is modeled after our own. 
All China has thus come to look on Christianity in a 
new way. The religion of Jesus is no longer a religion 
of the detested “foreign devil” to them, but the religion 
of a great and kindly nation which has treated their 
nation justly and has stood by them in times of need. 
With our nation, therefore, rests the opportunity to lead 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 193 


China into the Christian faith. Wuth our nation also rests 
the responsibility for this task of immeasurable impor- 
tance in the Kingdom enterprise. 

China at the End of the Twentieth Century. It has 
already been stated that at the end of the present cen- 
tury China will have 800,000,000 people. By that time 
China will have laid hold on everything other nations 
have to offer by way of education and industrial develop- 
ment. The giant will be fully awake and conscious of a 
power which is greater than that of any other nation, 
a power which could well-nigh defy ail the rest of the 
world. What if China by the end of the century has 
laid hold upon all that the nations of the earth have to 
offer in the way of increased power and material develop- 
ment, but has rejected the religion of Jesus? 


A CHINESE SAUL OF TARSUS 


In 1901 there occurred in China what is known as the 
Boxer Uprising. For a good many years the Chinese had 
seen portions of their country seized by one European 
nation after another. A great indignation gradually 
spread through the whole extent of the nation. A secret 
order known as The Righteous Harmony Fists’ Society 
was formed. The aim of this organization was the 
destruction of all foreigners and of all foreign influences 
within the boundaries of China. In their blind rage the 
Boxers, as they were called, made no distinctions between 
foreigners who had proved themselves friends and for- 
eigners who had proved themselves enemies. They aimed 
to destroy not only all missionaries, but also all native 
converts to Christianity who would not renounce their 
faith. 

The uprising fell suddenly on the mission station at 
Pao-ting-fu. The mission buildings were burned and the 
five missionaries met a martyr’s death. Besides the 
adult missionaries three little children belonging to them 
perished. As the Boxers were slaying the missionaries 
and native Christians at Pao-ting-fu, a young private sol- 
dier stood by, looking unmoved upon the terrible sight. 
Like Saul of Tarsus at the death of Stephen, he thought 
the murderers were doing a meritorious act. 


194 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


But Feng Yu-hsiang, for that was the young soldier’s 
name, could never forget what he saw that day. ‘To see 
men and women die with prayers upon their lips for their 
slayers was a new experience for the young Chinese 
soldier. He felt that there was something in the religion 
of Jesus which he had never known or experienced. Feng 
became a Christian... He rose to the rank of general and 
his division became famous. Under the influence of 
Feng many of the officers and men of the division became 
Christians. Bible study, prayer meetings, and Christian 
Endeavor societies were developed within the division of 
the army under the command of Feng. Like the sol- 
diers of Cromwell, the soldiers of Feng went into battle 
singing Christian hymns, and like the soldiers of Crom- 
well they seemed well-nigh invincible. 

General Feng is to-day stationed in Peking as the In- 
spector General of all the armies of the republic. A few 
months ago he addressed a great missionary gathering 
in Peking. His subject was “How Can Christianity Save 
China.” In his address he said that education without 
the Christian religion can never save the nation. Ten 
thousand soldiers out of the thirty thousand under the 
direct command of General Feng are already Christians. 
You can pick out these ten thousand among the Chinese 
militiamen on the streets of Peking; they are such fine, 
clean, efficient-looking soldiers. Christianity conquered 
Rome by conquering the Roman army and it may be that 
something similar will occur in China. 


THE LkssON PRAYER 


Our Father in heaven, help us to grasp the meaning of 
the stirring events which are now taking place in China. 
Give us that spirit of devotion which will make of us 
loyal supporters of the great missionary enterprise. If 
thou dost call any of our class to take up the work of a 
missionary, give to such of us as thou dost call the spirit 


which says, “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.” 
Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


Letters for Sunday schools from missionaries in China. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 195 
EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 
THE UPLIFTING POWER OF A SUBLIME LIFE TASK 


Tsar 4935-7 


Isaiah was one of the greatest preachers the world has 
ever known. In a time of great disasters to the chosen 
people, when a large portion of them had been carried 
away as captives and it seemed as if the nation must 
certainly perish, this great preacher sought to arouse the 
true worshipers of Jehovah with messages like that which 
we have chosen as the basis of this lesson. Speaking as 
Jehovah’s representative he told the few remaining He- 
brews that they were given a sublime task. Through 
them the Hebrew nation was to be restored; through 
them the Children of Israel were to be brought back to 
the worship of Jehovah, their God. But a task still more 
sublime was held up before his fellow countrymen by the 
great prophet. Speaking for Jehovah he said, “It is too 
light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise 
up the tribes ot Jacob, and to restore the preserved of 
Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, 
that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the 
Sense aay 

Isaiah wished his fellow Hebrews to feel that they 
were servants of God in the most sublime task in which 
mankind has ever been permitted to have a share, the 
task of bringing the whole world to know and obey God. 
To bring back the wandering Israelites to their allegiance 
to Jehovah was seemingly task enough, but Isaiah was 
told to hold an even greater task before his countrymen. 

The greatest and noblest men and women of history 
have been those who have felt that they were coworkers 
with God in the sublime task which Isaiah preached. 
This is the same task we have been studying about in 
the lessons on Africa, India, and China. It is the privi- 
lege of every boy and girl to share in the task of winning 
the whole world for Christ and God. China is probably 
a fourth of all the world and the winning of China is 
probably the greatest enterprise before the Church to- 
day. The pupils of the classes which study these lessons 


196 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


will take up many different occupations. They will be- 
come missionaries and merchants, teachers and house- 
keepers. Every right and honorable life work may be 
made sublime by bringing it into line with God’s plans 
for redeeming the world. 


SomE Facts to Bk DiscussEp IN THE MEETING 


In China there is one physician for every 400,000 peo- 
ple. Ninety-nine per cent of the sick in China have no 
competent medical attention. 

There are a million blind people in China and nearly 
a half million people who are totally deaf. 

Ninety-two per cent of the men of China and ninety- 
eight per cent of the women can neither read nor write. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. In what sense is China the oldest nation in the 
world? 

2. What do we mean when we say that China is the 
largest group of homogeneous people in the world? 

3. Why did the Chinese try to avoid all contact with 
foreign people for so many centuries? 

4. Name some characteristics of the Chinese race. 

9. What is meant by the term “aboriginal tribes” ? 
How do such tribes respond to the gospel? 

6. Tell about the industrial revolution in China and 
liswetLectc. 3 

7. Tell about the twentieth-century renaissance in 
China. 

8. Explain what is meant by the term “critical period 
in the history of the Chinese Republic” ? 

9, Why do the Chinese look to America for guidance? 


BIBLE VERSES 
John 42347363 6:27; Mark (11722 Romil 21am 
128: 2 Prov, 14:22; 23:4 TP Core] 5:58 Rey 201s seer 
Mattlile28230: 
Topics 


1. The sublime task to which Jesus called his follow- 
CrSarvrattwce (0.20), 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 197 


2. The life task which lifted Paul to sublime char- 
acter, ects 20:16-18; 

3. The task to which Moses was called and the effect 
which the doing of the task had upon his character. 
xo )-10; Deut. 343758. 

4. The great task to which George Washington de- 
voted his life. 

5. The great task to which Abraham Lincoln devoted 
his life. 

6. Why missionaries are among the happiest people in 
the world. 

7. How Intermediate pupils may have a part in the 
task of which Isaiah spoke. 


PROJECTS 


1. Undertake some definite work for a mission station 
in China. If there are Chinese in the community where 
the school is located, find out about how they live and 
what efforts are being made to bring them the gospel. 

2. Find out about Miss Donaldina Cameroun’s work 
for Chinese girls in San Francisco and undertake some 
work for the helping of that enterprise. (Information 
may be obtained from the Board of National. Missions, 
Presbyterian Church, 156 Fifth Ave., New York City.) 


CHAPTER XIV 
JAPAN, THE SUNRISE KINGDOM 
WEEK DAY SESSION 


A HERMIT NATION WHICH HAS THROWN OPEN 
ITS DOORS 


Ezek. 28:1-10 


Japan, like China, tried for many centuries to get along 
without having any intercourse with other nations. Like 
a hermit who retires to his hut in the woods and shuns 
all other human beings, so Japan closed her doors against 
citizens of other nations and tried to live her life apart 
from the rest of the world. History seems to indicate 
that it is exceedingly unwise for any nation to try to live 
a hermit life. The years during which Japan kept her 
doors closed to the world were not years of peace or 
progress for the Japanese nation. During the years of 
isolation the country was constantly harassed by internal 
strife and made little progress toward a better state of 
society or a higher civilization. We shall see in this 
lesson and the next that since her doors have been thrown 
open to the world Japan has made marvelous progress in 
education, industry, and government. 

Rulers Who Said of Themselves, “We Are Gods.” 
Ezek. 28:1-10. Monarchs who possessed great power and 
great riches have sometimes: become so self-conceited 
as to believe themselves to be gods. Some of the Roman 
emperors were worshiped as divine beings. In the days 
of the Prophet Ezekiel, Tyre had become such a great 
and wealthy city that its king said of himself, “I am a 
god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas.” 
Against this boastful and blasphemous king Ezekiel spoke 
words of doom from the Almighty. 

The Shinto religion of Japan teaches that the emperor 
of the country is a divine being. For centuries the rulers 
of the Japanese Empire have encouraged this monstrous 

198 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 199 


belief. As the late emperor of Japan lay dying in his 
palace, great multitudes gathered about the gates of the 
imperial grounds and prayed to the emperor whose life 
was swiftly ebbing away. They prayed to him as a god 
asking him to use his divine powers to save his human 
life. One of the conditions which puzzle visitors to 
Japan is the fact that, in spite of modern educational and 
industrial development a religion still survives which 
teaches the worship of a man as a god. 

Characteristics of the Japanese. The Japanese are 
sometimes called the “Yankees of the Orient.” ‘They are 
given this name because of their shrewdness in business 
and their ability to seize upon anything which will be for 
their own benefit. Sometimes the Japanese are called the 
“Frenchmen of the Orient” because they are so polite. 
They are an industrious and keenly intellectual people. 
Such faults as they manifest are due to the paganism in 
the midst of which they have dwelt so long. A well- 
educated and thoroughly consecrated Japanese Christian 
is a truly remarkable person, a choice instrument for God 
to use in the establishment of his Kingdom. 

The Great Britain of the Orient. The very location 
and nature of the Japanese Empire bespeak a great future 
for the Japanese people. The relation of the Japanese 
islands to the continent of Asia is comparable to the 
relation of the British Isles to the continent of Europe. 
As Great Britain has influenced the history of Europe 
so Japan will influence the continent of Asia. Japan is 
rapidly developing the shipping industries and the manu- 
facturing industries which will make her the Great Britain 
of the Orient. In working to make Japan a Christian 
nation we are working for the establishment of the 
Christian religion in the whole of eastern Asia. 

A Crowded Empire. The Japanese Empire, not count- 
ing its colonial possessions, has an area less than that of 
California. Including her colonies, Japan has an area 
equivalent to that of California and Oregon. A great 
deal of the land in both Japan and in her colonies is so 
swampy or so mountainous that it is unproductive. As 
a result there is a constant state of congestion in the 
population of Japan. The more than 78,000,000 people 
of the Japanese Empire constitute a group of people 


200 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


three fourths as great as the total population of the 
United States, yet they are all crowded into an area the 
size of California and Oregon. The population is increas- 
ing rapidly and one of the big problems of Japan is the 
problem of finding room for her people. 

Why Japan Bolted Her Doors Against Foreign Peo- 
ples. From about a. pv. 500 to a. pv. 800 Japan was 
absorbing Chinese civilization. Many Chinese and also 
many Koreans settled in Japan during this period so that 
to-day the Japanese race is closely related to the Chinese 
and the Korean. In 1542 Portuguese traders found their 
way to Japan and in 1611 Dutch traders entered ithe 
harbors. With the Portuguese came Roman Catholic 
missionaries introducing the Roman Catholic religion. 
Rapid progress was made at first, but the Japanese be- 
came convinced that the Jesuit priests were trying to 
obtain control of the government and a great persecution 
of Christians arose. The Christian religion was ruth- 
lessly exterminated in most parts of the empire and all 
foreigners were driven from the country. 

Laws were passed intended to cut off Japan from all 
connection with the outside world. No Japanese was 
allowed to leave the country and if any person was de- 
tected in the attempt to leave he was sentenced to death. 
Any Japanese residing abroad was not permitted to return 
to Japan. If he did so he was executed. The building 
of ocean-going ships was absolutely forbidden and no 
foreign ship was permitted to enter a Japanese port. 

How the Doors Were Opened. For two hundred and 
fifty years the Japanese succeeded in excluding all for- 
eigners and all foreign ideas., In 1853 a little fleet of 
warships flying the American: flag arrived unbidden at 
Uraga a city not far from Yokohama on the western shore 
of the Bay of Yedo. The commander of the fleet was 
Commodore Perry and he insisted on an interview with 
the representatives of the Japanese Government. His 
request was at first refused, but the ships stayed in the 
harbor until it was granted. As a result of Commodore 
Perry’s visit, certain ports of Japan were opened to foreign 
trade. Little by little other concessions were granted 
until all barriers were thrown down. ‘To-day Japan is 
open to all the world, It has become a land of world 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 201 


conventions and international conferences. “The hermit 
nation has become a host to all the peoples of the world. 


MARTYRS OF THE JAPANESE INQUISITION 


The heroic temper of Japanese Christians is shown by 
stories which have come down to us from the time of 
that great persecution which marked the efforts of the 
Japanese rulers to exterminate all foreigners and to cast 
uve eeroOneionmidcdomi rom  tuelmalancatn order, to 
frighten Christians into abandoning their faith, the Japan- 
ese rulers determined to make a horrible example of six 
missionaries and eighteen native Christians whom they 
had seized. ‘These twenty-four people were marched 
through the streets of the largest cities of the country. 
Their hands were bound, and on the breast of each was 
placed a large card stating that the bearer was a Christian 
condemned to be crucified. 

Since there were many Christians in Nagasaki the 
rulers determined to take the condemned Christians 
there for execution. It was the dead of winter but the 
Christians were driven three hundred miles to Nagasaki. 
There, outside the city walls, they found tifty crosses 
erected in anticipation of their arrival. The extra crosses 
had been erected as a warning to others who might be 
friendly to the Christian religion. Among the condemned 
native Christians was a little boy eleven years of age. 
He asked which cross was intended for him and when it 
was pointed out stepped forward and took his place before 
it. The vice governor, moved with pity for the lad, 
offered to secure his pardon if he would renounce the 
Christian religion. “On that condition,” replied the boy, 
“i-do not care’ to live.” 

The Japanese officials found that the execution of the 
missionaries and native Christians did not have the re- 
sults they expected. In fact many people, seeing the 
heroic courage with which the Christian martyrs met 
their death, came forward and boldly proclaimed them- 
selves followers of Jesus. In desperation the rulers put 
Christians to death whenever and wherever they could 
find them. They scoured the country seeking to destroy 
utterly every vestige of the Christian faith. Although 


202. KINGDOMPTASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


they succeeded in suppressing the Christian religion, they 
did not succeed in destroying it, though they pursued 
their attempt with ruthless determination for nearly three 
hundred years. Out on lonely islands of the Inland Sea 
and among the mountains of the mainland there have 
been, through all the centuries since the Japanese Inqui- 
sition, little bands of Christians who have held to their 
faith and at the risk of their lives have born witness for 
Jesus. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1,. “Pen Pictures of the Japanese: Mission: 4) Boardror 
Foreign Missions. 

2. “Japan on the Upward Trail,” Axling. Missionary 
Education Movement, New York City. (The teacher 
will find a great deal of interesting and valuable supple- 
mental material in this book.) 

“A Gentleman in Prison,” Ishii. 

~ Letters:trom,Chinavand\)\apan,zaWewey, 

“What Shall I Think of Japan,” Gleason. 

“When I Was a Boy in Japan,” Shioya. 

“Creative Forces in Japan,” Fisher. 

“Joy from Japan,” Miller. (Excellent recreation 
grams. ) 

Picture Sheets: {“The, Boys and Girlsvor Japanese 
‘ible: Peoplesotslapans. 

10. Lantern Slide Lectures: “The Challenge of Ja- 
pan’s New Day” (79 slides). “Along the Streets of New 


Japan” (22 slides). “Japanese Friends and Helpers” (22 
slides). 


pi 


05 DNAWAW 


SUNDAY SESSION 
SUNRISE IN THE SUNRISE KINGDOM 
Mal. 4:2; I John 2:8; Rev. 22:5 


The Japanese are peculiarly sensitive to the beautiful 
in nature. This sensitiveness is expressed in their works 
of art where picturesque trees like pines and cedars 
abound and where birds of the graceful crane and heron 
specics are often chosen as subjects. It is seen in their 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 203 


love of gardens, and in their rapt admiration of the great 
volcanic cone, Fuji-yama. There is nothing in any other 
country quite like the “Cherry Blossom Festival” of the 
Japanese. 

Because of their poetic fondness for nature, the Japan- 
ese have called their country “The Land of the Rising 
Sun.” We Americans do not often stop to think of it, 
but sunrise is one of the really sublime phenomena of 
nature. The name seems to fit the Japanese Empire. It 
lies on the sunrise side of the vast continent of Eurasia. 
The great majority of the world’s inhabitants who look 
towards Japan look toward the rise of the sun on their 
horizons. Moreover, although Japan is an ancient nation, 
there is something about the people who live in the island 
empire which makes the name particularly fitting. Few 
peoples of the earth have their faces set more resolutely 
toward the future. The Japanese seem to be conscious 
that, as a race, they are at the beginning of a great day 
and this consciousness has expressed itself in the rising 
sun emblazoned on their flag. 

Perhaps the Japanese in choosing the name, “The Sun- 
rise Kingdom,” chose better than they knew, for there 
are many signs that a new light is beginning in that 
ancient land, promising a brighter day for Japan, for all 
Asia, and for all the world. ‘he age-long struggle be- 
tween right and wrong is represented in the Bible by the 
terms, “light” and “darkness.” “Unto you that fear my 
name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in 
its wings”; with these sublime words one of the Old 
Testament prophets who foresaw the coming of the 
world’s Saviour, comforted the chosen people. “The 
darkness is passing away, and the true light already 
shineth,” wrote the disciple John in a time when the 
religion of Jesus was just beginning to spread over a 
pagan world. “And there shali be night no more; and 
they need no light of lamp, neither light of sun; for the 
Lord God shall give them hight: and they shall reign for 
ever and ever’—these words occur near the close of the 
Bible and they are a picture of the final and complete 
triumph of good over evil. It is the goal of Christian 
missions to enable Japan to take its place in the plans of 
God as a true “Sunrise Kingdom.” 


204 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


An Educated People. We have seen that a large per- 
centage of the people of India and China are unable to 
read and write. This was once true of Japan, but is no 
longer true. Schools and colleges have sprung up all 
over Japan within the past few years and now nearly all 
the young people can read and write. Many are highly 
educated. Every year Japan sends a multitude of students 
to the colleges of the United States and Europe. To-day 
Japan is a land of books and libraries, of newspapers and 
magazines. The Japanese have become an educated 
people. 

Rapidly Developing Industries. During the World 
War the shipping business of Japan increased one hun- 
dred per cent. Japanese companies operate steamship 
lines not only to the ports on our western coast, but to 
harbors all over the world. Moreover, the Japanese are 
rapidly building up great manufacturing establishments. 
With the introduction of modern machinery they are 
rapidly becoming an industrial people. 

As in the case of China, the industrial revolution in 
Japan is raising grave problems. Wages have increased, 
but the cost of living has increased still more. Japanese 
industry is in danger of falling into unchristian methods 
which totally disregard the welfare of the workers. Fac- 
tories are dark and unsanitary; women and children have 
to work long hours for enough to keep them alive; there 
are few efforts to secure the safety of the workers from 
industrial accidents which are frequent. 

It is encouraging to know that the most prominent 
leaders in efforts to secure better industrial conditions 
are nearly all Christians. These Christian friends of 
the Japanese workingman are striving to secure an or- 
ganization of industry which is in harmony with 
the principles taught by Jesus. They are fighting for a 
living wage, good working conditions, and a reasonable 
number of working hours, because of Jesus’ teaching that 
each individual is of priceless value. They know that a 
man is of more value than a sheep, of more value than 
large profits on cloth or on steel rails. 

One of the Five Great Nations of the World. As a 
result of her educational system, her industrial impor- 
tance, and her military successes within the past few 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES <205 


years, Japan has become one ot the five great nations of 
the world. Four of these five nations are at least nom1- 
nally Christian; Japan is still predominantly pagan. The 
winning of such a nation as Japan to the Christian 
religion is a matter of utmost importance. It is a task 
which the Christian forces of our country cannot afford 
EOenec lect. 

Japan is a strategic point in the conquest of the world 
for Christ. Paul planted churches at the important 
centers of trade and at the great centers of learning 
throughout the Roman Empire. He did this because he 
was looking forward to the conquest of the Roman do- 
minions for Christ. The time has come for a statesman- 
like policy in foreign-mission enterprises. The strategic 
points of the world ought to be taken for the religion of 
Jesus. We have been studying about such strategic 
points in these lessons, but of all the countries that we 
have studied Japan, with its important location at the 
doorway of Asia and its wide-awake people, would seem 
to be most important of all. 

Pagan Religions Which No Longer Satisfy. There are 
many indications that pagan religions no longer satisfy 
the Japanese. They, for the most part, are too well edu- 
cated to maintain seriously any longer that their emperor 
is a god. Many of the younger generation are drifting 
into unbelief and irreligion because the faith of their fore- 
fathers no longer satisfies them. The decay of the ancient 
religions opens a door of opportunity to the Christian 
Church. The religion of Jesus satisfies every longing of 
the soul and enables its possessor to meet every kind of 
human experience victoriously. The youth of Japan 
need the Christian religion and need it desperately. 
The youth of America can go a long way toward sending 
it to them, if they will. 


CARRYING THE GOSPEL TO THE PEOPLE OF THE INLAND SEA 


What is called the “Inland Sea” of Japan stretches for 
one hundred and fiity miles between the mainland of 
Japan and the large island of Shikoku. Scattered over 
this body ot water are hundreds of islands, some of them 
so small that an island sometimes supports only a single 


206 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


pine tree rising picturesquely above the water, others 
jarge enough to support a population of from 20,000 to 
40,000 people. 

The people of the Inland Sea are a hardy raceot 
farmers and fishers. They had not been reached by mis- 
sionaries until a courageous sea captain, Luke Bickel, took 
charge of a little gospel schooner and began work among 
the islands. At first, Captain Bickel found his work diff- 
cult and apparently fruitless. The people of the islands 
were enormously prejudiced against Christianity. Tra- 
ditions concerning the Jesuit missionaries had been 
handed down for three centuries and the Japanese of the 
islands believed that Christianity was a foreign religion 
which taught Japanese citizens to be traitors to their 
country. Moreover, the Buddhist priests stirred up oppo- 
sition here and there. 

Captain Bickel was not discouraged by this opposition. 
He had expected it. He had told his friends that if he 
gained his first convert within ten years he would be 
satisfied. So he kept on with his work. He held meet- 
ings wherever he could and visited the sick. He invited 
the islanders to his ship, and entertained them in his 
small but comfortable cabin where Mrs. Bickel met the 
women and gradually won their confidence and friend- 
ship. The greatest promise of success was soon seen to 
lie in work with the children. They quickly iearned to 
sing Christian hymns and Captain Bickel soon had organ- 
ized several Sunday schools. 

The first signs of a definite acceptance of the Christian 
religion was seen among the sailors of the little gospel 
ship. They were at first a ‘rough and godless lot of 
seamen. Gradually the influence “of their godly captain 
began to touch their lives. They became interested in 
the great undertaking to which their captain was devot- 
ing his life with so much enthusiasm. Soon every one 
of them accepted the Christian religion and became a 
faithful helper to his captain, not only in managing the 
ship but also in carrying on the missionary work. 

The prejudice against the “Jesus Ship,” as the islanders 
had named the little gospel schooner, seemed to give way 
all at once. The people became friendly. They hailed 
the coming of the ship with shouts of welcome. ‘They 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES’ 1 207 


crowded about the captain to hear his words concerning 
the religion of Jesus. Soon the captain had organized 
a hundred Sunday schools with an enrollment of four 
thousand children’ Two thousand people were receiving 
instruction as candidates for Church membership. The 
Captain and his helpers were now everywhere welcomed, 
and appeals came from distant ports of the archipelago 
urging him to come and start churches and Sunday 
schools. 

For twenty years Captain Bickel sailed his little white 
ship up and down among the islands of the Inland Sea. 
Once mistrusted as the representative of a mysterious 
foreign power which the people feared, he became the 
beloved friend of many thousands of Japanese scattered 
over the islands of the Inland Sea. When he laid down 
his task to take his eternal reward, without doubt he was 
the best beloved man in all that part of the Japanese Em- 
pire, and, better still, he had taught his Japanese friends 
to know and to love the Saviour and Lord whom he 
served so faithfully. 

Another captain and his wife are now sailing the little 
white ship on the Inland Sea. The work still goes on 
and, year by vear, the farmers and fisherman are turning 
from paganism to worship the God revealed in Jesus 
Christ. The work done by the little gospel ship with its 
preacher-captain and his wife and its godly crew can 
never be measured. It is such zeal that is gradually 
winning not only Japan but all the world as well for the 
religion of Jesus. It is work like this that is laying the 
foundations for the Kingdom of God on earth. 


Tur Lesson PRAYER 


Our Father in heaven, teach us to see the nobility of 
service. Grant that none of us may fall into the habit 
of living selfishly. Bless the work of the missionaries in 
Japan and give them strength to labor faithfully for 
thee. We would do our part in the great task of winning 
the world for thee. We would give generously of our 
time and money for the support of the mission enterprise. 
Help us to carry our good will into action, laboring 
gladly and perseveringly in whatever task thy wisdom 
doth assign unto us. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen, 


208 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. Missionary letters for Sunday schools. 

2.- “Young, Japan, ‘Kerschner. Boardsomboreigagyiies 
sions. 

3.) Postseards. (Hourin assetysepias, 

4. Maps: Large wall map of Japan and Korea, sixty 
cents. Smaller map of same. Small outline map, 
Le hae 

5. Plays and Pageants: “Sunlight and Candlelight in 
Japan” (play with five characters); “The Cross Tri- 
umphant”’ (pageant). 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 
THE PLACH OF AMERICA IN] THE PLAN s@ Ta eee 
Micah 4-2-5 


God is working through the centuries to bring all man- 
kind to a state of righteousness and brotherhood. In 
carrying out this great purpose he uses nations as well 
as individuals. The Hebrews were his chosen people in 
the sense that he used the Hebrew nation to reveal him- 
self to his earthly children. They, first of all-thespeople 
of the earth, came to know Jehovah as the God and 
Creator of the universe.. Through their great prophets 
God was able to teach his children many great lessons, 
such as the hope of a coming Saviour. Through the 
Hebrews he prepared the world for the coming of his 
Son. He also used the Greeks and the Romans in the 
same way. 

We may believe, therefore, that God has a place in 
his great plan for our nation. We have caught glimpses 
of it in these lessons. We have seen what an opportunity 
the American people have in China and in Japan and in 
South America. What a great thing it would be if all 
the boys and girls of our country could catch a glimpse 
of God’s great plans for our nation and could throw their 
lives into the task of helping our country fulfill the plans 
of the Almighty! Such a knowledge and such an enter- 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 209 


prise would make our country great beyond the highest 
hopes of its founders. 

As long as the Hebrews kept their missionary task in 
view, they made great progress as a nation. Sometimes 
they forgot this task and then they became narrow and 
selfish and began to oppress one another. Our nation 
stands in the same relation to the God of nations as 
the Hebrew nation stood. If we as a nation fulfill his 
plans, we shall be a nation of people great of soul and 
great in service to all the world. If we allow ourselves 
to become narrow and selfish, it may be that God will 
try to win us back to the path of duty as he redeemed 
the Hebrews in the days of their Captivity. If we prove 
to be a useless instrument God will certainly raise up 
other nations to do the task which we have neglected. 
God will not fail in his great plan to set righteousness 
and justice in all the earth. 


SomE Facts To Bg DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


No great nation is in such close contact with Japan as 
is the United States. The Pacific Ocean has become a 
highway; it does not separate our country from Japan, 
but binds the two nations together. 

American asistance during the great Japanese earth- 
quake of 1923 did much to advance the cause of Christ 
in Japan. High officials of the Japanese nation have 
stated that to-day a war between Japan and the United 
States is impossible. 

Hundreds of Japanese students are now in the colleges 
and universities of the United States. By making friends 
of these Japanese students our American students can 
be of much help in advancing the cause of Christ in Japan. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Why did Japan make little progress during the cen- 
turies when she was a hermit nation? 

2. Why is Japan called the “Great Britain of the 
Orient’? 

3. Tell about Commodore Perry and his expedition 
to Japan. 


210 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


4. Why is Japan called the “Sunrise Kingdom’? 

5. Why is the present a time of missionary oppor- 
tunity in Japan: 

6. Tell something of the pagan religions of Japan and 
why they no longer satisfy the Japanese. 


« BIBLE VERSES 


P8.'146; 337125 14720; Proviel10225.914254 Sele 
Tisoanve/.coalsacOrcce crm lOsow7s 


‘Topics 


1. Isaiah’s picture of a nation which’ still>kepteup 
formal worship but had forgotten its missionary task. 
Isa. 1:10-20. 

2. Business ideals in a nation which had forgotten its 
missionary task. Amos 8:4-10. 

3. Social conditions in a nation which had forgotten 
its missionary task. Micah 3:5-12. 

4. Why I believe that God has a great task for Amer- 
ica. (His providence in providing a country wonderfullv 
varied and rich in resources; in selecting early settlers, 
and so forth.) 

5. Is there danger of our country becoming a hermit 
nation? 


-ProjyEcts 


Plan for a self-denial week, the proceeds of which are 
to be sent as a thank offering for the support of Japanese 
missions. Plan an evening service in which a stereop- 
ticon lecture on Japan is to be given. 


CEA Bs LE Raa 
KOREA, THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM 


WEEK DAY SESSION 
ABAD, Jey Ub sD SAP ENID ON a llinos 1eveCOlN OIE: 
Haggai 2:1-9 


The words of our Scripture lesson were spoken to the 
little band of Jews who had come back to Palestine from 
Babylon to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the Temple 
of Jehovah. Some of those who helped to construct this 
second ‘T‘emple could remember the magnificent Temple 
of Solomon which had been destroyed seventy years be- 
fore. As these aged people thought of Solomon’s great 
Temple and compared the Temple they had just com- 
pleted with this splendid Temple of other days, they 
wept. The Prophet Haggai told the people that this 
second Temple should be greater than the Temple of 
Solomon, because Jehovah would fill this second house 
with the glory of his presence. The words of the prophet 
were fulfilled, for in this second Temple the chosen 
people came to know God more perfectly than they had 
ever known him in the days when Solomon’s Temple 
was standing, and it was into this second Temple, remod- 
eled by Herod, that Jesus came as a boy and as a man. 
God can take individuals of only mediocre ability and 
use them for some of his greatest enterprises. He 
can use small and weak nations for his great plan. 
We have been studying about some countries which are 
great in the extent of their territory and in the number of 
people within their boundaries. In this lesson we are 
to study about a little country which is so weak that 
it has long been subject to other nations, but which God 
is using for the conversion of Asia to Christianity. 

A Peninsula for Which Many Nations Have Con- 
tended. Korea, or Chosen, is a peninsula about six hun- 
dred miles in length. It extends in a southeasterly direc- 
tion from the northeastern corner of China. Its total 

7A 


212 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


area is about the same as that of Kansas. The peninsula 
of Korea has been a battle ground of nations from earliest 
times. “From its tip the: ancestors ‘of sthe Japanese 
launched out to sea and passed over to the islands of 
the Ainu, which they conquered for their own possession. 
Into this peninsula came fierce Tartars under Jenghiz 
Khan, threatening to overrun Japan. The Chinese early 
invaded the peninsula and held a kind of protectorate 
over it for many centuries. ‘he Japanese challenged the 
Chinese possession of Korea, and this challenge resulted 
in the Chinese-Japanese War of 1895. A few years later 
the Japanese suspected the Russians of having designs 
on Korea and the Russian-Japanese War was the result. 
In 1910 the Japanese annexed Korea to their own nation, 
and have ever since been trying to make it thoroughly 
Japanese in language and civilization. 

The Koreans have long called their country “The Land 
of the Morning Calm.” In view of the somewhat stormy 
history of the peninsula, the name ‘does not seem to be 
a very fitting one. The Koreans, however, did not have 
the history of their land in mind when they fixed upon 
this name. They had noticed that on summer mornings 
just about sunrise there is apt to be an hour of quiet 
when no leaf stirs in the breeze. Being a nature-loving 
people, the Koreans thought of this morning calm as rep- 
resenting the ideal for their nation. ‘They longed for a 
nation which would be as quiet and peaceful as a summer 
morning. 

Likeness of Chosen to Palestine. Chosen has some- 
times been called “The Palestine of\thesPacihcwamune 
two countries resemble each other somewhat in physical 
features. At the northern boundary of Palestine stands 
Mount Hermon, crowned with snow which lasts through 
the summer. At the northern boundary of Chosen stands 
a mountain which the Koreans call “The Ever White 
Mountain Peak.” From Mount Hermon mountain ridges 
run southward throughout the whole length of Palestine. 
From “The Ever White Mountain Peak” a chain of 
mountains runs down the center of the Korean Peninsula. 

Korea and Palestine are alike in their history. Both 
have been battle grounds of the nations. Both lay for 
centuries between strong and rival monarchies. As 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 213 


Palestine became in the end a nation subject to other 
and stronger nations, so Korea has passed successively 
under the control of Tartars, Chinese, and Japanese. 
Palestine has served as a bridge between the valley of 
the Nile and the valley of the Euphrates. Korea has 
served as a bridge between the Japanese islands and the 
mainland of Asia. 

Although Palestine is a small country it has had a 
profound influence over the whole world. Out from its 
borders have gone the gospel messages which are trans- 
forming the earth into the Kingdom of God. Korea is 
likewise a little country, but there are signs that Korea, 
too, will be used of God for a great work. In these les- 
sons we shall learn something of the rapid progress of 
the Christian religion in Korea and the efforts of the 
Korean Christians to spread the gospel over the conti- 
nent of Asia. It seems probabie that Korea may become 
the spiritual Palestine of eastern Asia, sending forth 
from its boundaries the message of peace which has 
conquered men and empires for God. 

The Korean People. The Koreans are related to the 
Chinese and the Japanese, but differ from both in many 
ways. They are usually much taller than the Japanese 
and are not so brown in color. In disposition the Kore- 
ans are mild and gentle. They seem to have a natural 
capacity for religion, which makes them very responsive 
to the Christian faith. Their language has usually been 
written with the same characters as the Chinese lan- 
guage, but it differs from Chinese speech as much as 
English differs from German. 

One of the kings of Korea who lived some four hun- 
dred years ago invented an alphabet of twenty-six letters 
to take the place of the thousands of Chinese characters 
in which the Koreans were accustomed to write their 
language. But little use was made of this invention until 
missionaries came to Korea and found this simple alpha- 
bet ready for their use. It has enabled the missionaries 
to print the Bible and other books in the Korean tongue, 
and has thus been of great assistance in the evangeliza- 
tion of the nation. 

A Passion for Education. Since the coming of the 
missionaries the Koreans have developed a passion for 


214 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


education. All schools are crowded, and many thou- 
sands of boys and girls are turned away every year 
because the schools cannot provide tor them. Since 
taking control of the country, the Japanese have organ- 
ized a system of public schools, but there are not nearly 
enough of these public schools to provide for all the 
children. The mission schools are a very important part 
of the educational system of the nation. The Koreans 
are for the most part desperately poor, but parents are 
willing to make almost any sacrifice in order to secure 
an education for their children. 

A Delicate Situation for the Missionaries. Mission 
work has been carried on in Korea under very trying 
conditions since the Japanese annexed the country to 
their own nation. The Koreans have longed for inde- 
pendence and have looked upon the Japanese as their 
enemies and oppressors. ‘The Japanese have often 
charged the missionaries with encouraging the Koreans 
to resist the Japanese occupation of the country. Some- 
times the Koreans have felt that the missionaries were 
on the side of the Japanese because the missionaries tried 
to maintain a neutral attitude in the matter. 

A few years ago the Koreans undertook to throw off 
the Japanese rule by what has been called “The Inde- 
pendence Movement.” They did not resort to arms, as 
such a step would have been hopeless. They did, how- 
ever, withstand the Japanese authority in every other 
way that they could. Many of the Koreans were thrown 
into jail and for months the country was torn by bitter 
strife. The harsh measures used by the Japanese caused 
the whole world to look with pity on the seemingly 
hopeless struggles of the Koreans to regain their inde- 
pendence. ‘To-day the Japanese have almost entirely 
ceased their harsh treatment of the Koreans. Their 
harsh methods were a great blunder. After the war 
with Russia, Japan was looked upon by many Oriental 
peoples as the champion of Asia. They began to dream 
of freeing themselves from the rule of European powers. 
But when Japan herself turned oppressor and treated 
the Koreans more cruelly than Europeans had ever 
treated their Asiatic subjects, the admiration for Japan 
quickly cooled. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 215 
PIONEERS AND MARTYRS 


Christianity was first introduced into Korea in 1790. 
No missionaries seem to have entered the country at 
that time. Perhaps they could not have entered, as 
Korea was for centuries a hermit nation. But certain 
missionaries were working in China, and they learned 
enough of the Korean language to write tracts on the 
Christian religion in the Korean tongue. ‘These tracts, 
with portions of the Bible, were sent into Korea. 

So responsive were the Koreans to the Christian re- 
ligion that, as a result of the literature sent into Korea, 
a considerable group of them became Christians. These 
first followers of Christ in Korea refused to take part in 
the worship of their ancestors and thus drew upon them- 
selves violent persecutions. In 1803 the first Korean 
martyrs for Christ were put to death. Perhaps all the 
Christians were slain, for nothing more is heard of Chris- 
tianity in Korea for sixty years. 

During all these sixty years no missionary was per- 
mitted to set foot in Korea. Then a determined French 
missionary came to the city of Wiju, which lies on the 
boundary between Korea and China. He could visit 
that part of the city which lay in Chinese territory, but 
for a time all his efforts to cross over into Korean ter- 
ritory were defeated. One day he discovered that a large 
city sewer coming down from the Korean portion of the 
city emptied on the Chinese side of the boundary. Enter- 
ing this sewer he traversed its long, dark passageway 
until he was well within the Korean boundary. ‘Then 
he found an opening and crawled out at night. He suc- 
ceeded not only in eluding the Korean officers but even 
in getting other missionaries into the country. Within 
three years there were twenty-three missionaries in 
Korea, and many thousands of native Koreans had been 
won for Christ by these missionaries. "Then came a 
terrible persecution, in which nearly every missionary 
perished and in which thousands of the native Chris- 
tians lost their lives. With a terrible determination the 
Korean rulers set themselves to the task of wholly de- 
stroying the Christian faith in their midst. They did not 
wholly succeed, for the Christians endured heroically, 


216 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


until a better spirit took possession of the nation, and 
the doors were swung open to welcome the message of 
the cross. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIAL 


“Pen Picture of the Chosen Mission.” 
“First. Fruits in Korea; Clark, 
“The Happiest Girl in Korea,” Guthapfel. 
“Underwood of Korea,’ Underwood. 
“A Little Prince, Has a: Jesus’ Birthday.; 
Other leaflets from the Literature Department of 
the Board of Foreign Missions. 
Joe loaiiter nh Shale Lecture: “Chosen.” 


AnRWN 


SUNDAY SESSION 
THE KOREAN PENTECOST 
Acts 2:1-13, 37-47 


Christianity has advanced so rapidly in Korea during 
the past few years that the movement has sometimes been 
called the “Korean Pentecost.” It will be remembered 
that after Peter’s great sermon on the Day of Pentecost, 
three thousand people accepted the Christian religion. 
A few days later the number of men among the believers 
had increased to five thousand. Before the persecutions 
came to scatter the followers of Jesus, the number of 
Christians multiplied rapidly in Jerusalem, so that there 
were probably many thousands of Christians in the city 
when Saul took up the task of exterminating the new 
religion. 

The growth of the Christian Church in Korea has not 
been so rapid as it was in Jerusalem in the days of Pente- 
cost, but the cause of Christ has made such remarkable 
progress there that the term, “Korean Pentecost,” is not 
altogether unsuitable. The Korean mission is one of the 
youngest missions of the Protestant Churches. The first 
Korean church was organized in 1887. In 1890 there 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 217 


were less than one hundred native Christians in all 
Korea. In a single generation the number of converts 
has been multiplied many times. The Presbyterian 
Church alone now numbers among its adherents more 
than two hundred thousand Koreans. ‘The Korean 
Christians of all denominations now number nearly four 
hundred thousand, having grown to this great host from 
a little band of less than one hundred, thirty-three years 
ago, 

The steady growth of the Presbyterian Church in 
Korea is seen in the following statistics covering a period 
Bia Leesyecaior 

Added on Confession of Faith, in 1920, 5603; in 1921, 
8461; in 1922, 10,535: 

Enrolled as Catechumens, in 1920, 8002; in 1921, 12,346; 
in 1922, 15,640. 

Growth of Korean Sunday Schools. One of the most 
promising features of the mission work in Korea has 
been the rapid development of Sunday-school work in 
recent months. ‘The native Korean pastors are begin- 
ning to recognize the great value of an efficient educa- 
tional program as an aid to the evangelization of their 
country. They have found out that nine tenths of those 
who unite with the Church have been Sunday-school 
members before they became Church members. These 
native pastors are asking. our country to send them not 
only medical missionaries and evangelists but also leaders 
in religious education, that they may put their church - 
schools on the right kind of foundation and make them 
efficient agencies for the winning of all Korea for Christ. 

lnbanewer teovthiseappealhey, (|. o.eArmentrout, an 
American specialist in religious education, was sent tc 
Korea in the fall of 1922. He spent several months in 
that country, helping the Korean Christians to organize 
teacher-training classes, showing them how to grade their 
Sunday schools into departments, and how to put on 
Daily Vacation Bible Schools, thus supplementing the 
Sunday-school program. 

Self-Supporting Churches. In America it has some- 
times been difficult to bring home-mission churches to 
self-support. Even when home-mission churches in 
America have grown strong enough in membership to 


218 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


meet their own expenses without any great effort, they 
have sometimes been unwilling to give up the assistance 
which their denomination has been giving them in the 
way of a cash allowance. This does not seem to be the 
case with the Korean churches. The Korean Christians 
are nearly all poor people, but they have tried to make 
their churches self-supporting as soon as they could. 
As a result ninety per cent of the churches of Korea are 
supported entirely by the gifts of the native Christians. 
Too many American Christians give to thes Ghuvenmeo: 
their superfluity” without ever sacrificing anything for 
their Church. The giving of the Korean Christians is 
sacrificial. 

A Missionary Church. If all Christians had the mis- 
sionary zeal of the Korean Christians, the world would 
be won for the religion of Jesus within a few generations. 
The little group of Korean Christians, poor in this world’s 
goods, might say: “We have all that we can do at home. 
Our task is right here in Korea and we will leave the 
foreign-mission enterprise for the Church in lands where 
Christianity is strong and the Christians people of 
wealth.” But the Koreans do not say this. Worth- 
while Christians never talk in such a way. Pushing their 
work at home with all their might, the Korean Christians 
at the same time are reaching out into distant lands with 
the gospel message. The little Korean Church has 
planted more than a hundred mission stations in Man- 
churia and has sent eight of its members to be mission 
pastors in charge of these mission stations. It has estab- 
lished work in and around the Russian city of Vladivos- 
tok and has given two missionaries to this field. Far up 
in the center of Siberia, a Korean is carrying on mission 
work with little groups of Christians in twenty-five dif- 
ferent places. This Korean missionary is the only Prot- 
estant who is preaching to the Russians of Siberia. 

The Koreans lately sent two missionaries to the island 
of Quelpaerd in the Yellow Sea, In Lokio; Japanesa 
Korean missionary is preaching to eight congregations 
of Koreans and Japanese. In the province of Shan-tung, 
China, the Korean Christians support four missionaries 
and a missionary doctor. These five Koreans with their 
Wives Carry on services in sixteen churches and conduct 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 219 


six day schools. The work is entirely in the hands of 
the Korean missionaries, the American missionaries hav- 
ing nothing to do with the enterprise. 

With these facts‘at hand, it will not seem to bean 
overstatement to say that if all Christians had the mis- 
sionary zeal of the Korean Christians, the world would 
be won for Christ within a few generations. The Korean 
Christians are only a little band. For every Korean 
Christian there are nearly two thousand people in other 
iands and of other races who profess to be followers ot 
Christ. If we could multiply the missionary zeal and 
the missionary effort of the Korean Christians by two 
thousand, we would be putting billions of dollars into the 
foreign-mission enterprise and supporting an army of 
missionaries a hundred thousand strong. 

The “Grace” of Liberal Giving. In his letters to the 
Christians of his day, Paul speaks of liberal giving as a 
“orace,” thus ranking Christian giving along with prayer, 
service, and the study of the Bible. The Korean Chris- 
tians, as has been intimated, have manifested the grace 
of liberal giving in such a way as to make them an object 
lesson to Christians in other lands. There are twelve 
hundred church buildings in Korea, and the Koreans 
themselves have paid for nearly all of these buildings. 
Only seven churches out of the twelve hundred have in 
them any money from America. The Korean Church 
has two hundred and forty ordained native pastors and 
every one of them is supported by the Korean Christians. 
They also support eighty per cent of all their other 
Church workers. 

Christians Who Are Ever About the Father’s Busi- 
ness. The splendid growth of the Church in Korea is due 
in large part to the fact that every Church member is a 
zealous and persevering evangelist. They do not leave 
the work of winning converts entirely to the ministers, 
as so many Christians in our own land are apt to do. 
Men, women, and students are constantly telling their 
friends and neighbors about the religion of Jesus. They 
bear witness for Christ wherever they go. They give 
days and weeks every year to evaneglistic work in their 
community and in neighboring communities. What would 
happen if the five hundred millions who profess the name 


220 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


of Jesus in various parts of the world were all like the 
Korean Christians in this matter? 

A Preéminently Fruitful Mission. What this little 
country, with its people poor in this world’s goods but 
rich in faith, has done for the cause of Christ is seen when 
we compare the mission work in Korea with the whole 
of the foreign-missfon work carried on by the Presby- 
terian Church. The Presbyterian Church is carrying on 
foreign-mission work in twenty-seven different fields. 
Of the native Christians in all these fields, thirty per 
cent are in Korea. ‘Thirty-seven per cent of the pupils 
in Sunday schools of the foreign field are in the Korean 
Sunday schools. Eighty per cent of the self-supporting 
native churches in the foreign-mission fields of the Pres- 
byterian Church are in Korea. 

The Place of Korea in the Evangelization of Asia. It 
seems certain that if the Churches of America do their 
part, Korea can be wholly won for the Christian religion 
within a few years. Such an achievement would be of 
immeasurable importance. A Christian country with all 
its citizens as zealous for Christ as are the present-day 
Korean Christians would count for much in the evangeli- 
zation of the world, no matter where that country might 
happen to lie. It would count still more mightily for the 
Kingdom of God if it lay, as Korea does, at a point where 
China, Japan, and Siberia touch one another. With the 
people of a Christian Korea joining hands with fellow 
Christians in Japan, Siberia, China, India, and Siam, the 
winning of all Asia for Christ would be in sight. 


Tur Lesson PRAYER 


Lord, thou hast taught us to pray saying, “Thy king- 
dom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” 
We believe that we ought not only to pray for the com- 
ing of thy Kingdom but also to work for it diligently. 
Help us to understand the problems which must be solved 
in the carrying on of the task which thou hast given to 
the followers of thy Son. We ask thy blessing upon the 
peoples in other lands who have turned away from idols 
to worship thee. We thank thee that there are so many 
of them and that they have been so zealous in the work 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 221 


of thy Church. Grant that we who have as a nation so 
iong known the blessings of the Christian religion may 
be as true and as zealous as the new converts in mission 
fields. We ask in the name of Jesus. Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. Report of Foreign Mission Board, for 1923, p. 109. 
2 Missionary experiences of New Testament times 
which are being repeated to-day in the foreign-mission 


field: Acts 20:17-38; 21:4-6; 28:11-15. 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 


SOME LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM THE 
KOREAN CHRISTIANS 


NGtoml Ost /-jo ex ell 32h 


It is one of the blessings of the Christian religion that 
it tends to make its possessors docile. The Christian is 
always ready to learn. In giving people a teachable 
spirit, the Christian religion gives them one of the essen- 
tials of a great personality. One of the greatest thinkers 
of America declared that he usually learned something 
from every person with whom he talked for a few min- 
utes. Moses learned some very important lessons from 
his father-in-law who was a desert sheik. Peter learned 
some very important lessons from a Roman captain who 
was a seeker after the religion of Jesus. Peter had been 
in the school of Jesus for some years when he met Cor- 
nelius, yet this Gentile soldier was able to give Peter new 
light concerning the religion which Jesus had come to 
establish on earth. 

This same truth applies to our own times. People who 
_have lived all their lives in a Christian country can often 

learn a great deal from the new converts to Christ in the 
foreign-mission field. Christians in countries like Korea 
and Japan are helping American Christians to under- 
stand the Christian religion better than they have under- 
stood it heretofore. The message of the life and teach- 


222 KINGDOM TASKS FOR (YOUNG DISCIPLES 


ings of Jesus is so great a message that it takes all classes 
of people to grasp its significance. 

Some of the newly organized Christian churches in for- 
eign-mission fields are showing the Christian Churches 
of America the advantages of a close cooperation between 
all types of Christians and the duty which rests upon 
them to seek this choser unity. In Korea many different 
denominations either unite in the promotion of the Chris- 
tian religion within a certain territory, or they so divide 
the field between them that there is no competition. The 
Christian forces in practically every foreign-mission field 
are moving steadily toward a union of all the Protestant 
forces into one Church organization. 


SoME Facts to BE DiscussEp IN THE MEETING 


The Japanese name for Korea is “Chosen” and it is 
proving to be a name well suited to the home of the 
Koreans, for their land is coming to be recognized as a 
chosen instrument for carrying out God’s plan for a 
Christian Asia. 

There are seventeen million of Koreans, besides a good 
many Chinese and Japanese, in Korea. Korea has about 
one sixth as many people as has the United States. 

Nine tenths of the Koreans are farmers. Rice is the 
chief crop, but other kinds of grain are also raised. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Why is Korea called “The Palestine of the Pacific”? 

2. Tell what you can of the Korean people. 

3. What hindrances have there been to the mission 
work in Korea? 

4. What is meant by the “Korean Pentecost’? 

5. Tell of the growth of Korean Sunday schools. 

6. Show that the Koreans are interested in missions. 

7. How does Korea rank as a mission field? 


BIBLE VERSES 


Eph. 5218-21; I Cor; 1:26-3108Gen. 30:27-Visamiees 
26:9 Philo 4-0. Roms bal4ecoee imei ieee Le. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 223 


Topics 


1. What the Korean Christians can teach us about 
missionary zeal. 

2. What the Korean Christians can teach us about 
giving. 

3. What the Korean Christians can teach us about 
Church unity. 

4. What the Korean Christians can teach us about 
leading others to become Christians. 

5. The importance of Korea in the program of world 
evangelization. 

6. Mission stations of our denomination in Korea. 
(Described in “Pen Picture of the Chosen” Mission. Map 
may also be obtained from the Foreign Mission Board.) 


PROJECTS 


Collect picture rolls and picture cards from Sunday 
schools and send them to Korea to be used in the Korean 
Sunday schools. Make ribbon bookmarks to be sent to 
Korea for use as prizes in Sunday-school work and as 
Christmas gifts. Collect books of travel and biography 
to be sent to Sunday-school libraries to be used by Korean 
boys and girls who are learning English. 


CPAP Ete xe vet 
SIAM AND THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 


WEEK DAY SESSION 
AN OPEN DOOR TO SOUTHEASTERN ASIA 
Te CorlG 35-9 


Paul owed his great success as a missionary to his 
ability to see and seize open doors of opportunity. He 
wrote the words of our Scripture lesson from Ephesus. 
The Corinthian Christians were anxious to have Paul 
visit them and he was anxious to go, but he decided to 
stay for a while longer in Ephesus because of what he 
called the “great door and effectual’ which had been 
opened to him. It is characteristic of Paul that after 
naming the open door of opportunity as a reason for his 
tarrying in Ephesus, he added, “and there are many 
adversaries.” He did not say, “There is a great oppor- 
tunity here, but there are many adversaries.” He said, 
“And there are many adversaries.” ‘The adversaries were 
an additional reason, Paul thought, why he should tarry 
in Ephesus. 

It was not only Paul’s ability to see opportunities, but 
his habit of pushing them perseveringly, that made him 
a great missionary. In this, chapter we are to study 
about some of the open doors of missionary work which 
are before the Christian Church to-day. If we seize these 
opportunities as Paul would have seized them, and labor 
at our tasks as Paul would have labored at them, we 
shall see the Church of Christ advancing in some of the 
most needy regions of the earth. 

At the Heart of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula. From 
southeastern Asia, a great tongue of land extends south- 
ward between the Indian Ocean and the South China 
Sea. This tongue of land is called the Indo-Chinese 
Peninsula, It is occupied by a number of different coun- 
tries. Burma holds a narrow strip of land on the western 

224 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 225 


side. In the south the prolongation of the Indo-Chinese 
Peninsula is called the Malay Peninsula and is in part 
occupied by the Straits Settlements of Great Britain. 
On the east are Cochin China, and Annam, making up 
what is commonly called French Indo-China. Along 
the northern borders of the peninsula lie some of the 
provinces of the Chinese Republic. In the center of the 
peninsula lies Siam. 

All the countries named in the preceding paragraph are 
as yet hardly touched by missionary activities, but in 
Siam a beginning has been made. Lying as it does in the 
heart of the peninsula, Siam presents great opportunities 
for an advance of the Christian religion into the regions 
of southeastern Asia, Protestant missionaries have not 
been allowed to enter French Indo-China. ‘That is, the 
front door of that country has been barred against them. 
They have not been allowed to settle in any of the seaport 
towns. During recent months, however, they have gained 
admittance through the back door. Coming up through 
central Siam, they have reached the borders of French 
Indo-China and have passed over into that forbidden 
territory. Their position in Siam has likewise put the 
missionaries 1n close touch with the southern provinces 
OimeCinomeltsismcyidentuthatmifpiamecannber won, tor 
Christianity, the whole Indo-Chinese Peninsula will fall 
before the advance of the Christian religion. With this 
great peninsula of southeastern Asia won for the Church 
the way will be open for an advance into the vast regions 
of central Asia, where the gospel has hardly been heard 
aoeycl: 

The Tai Race. A good many centuries before Moses 
was born in Egypt a vigorous race of people known as 
the Tai pushed southward from the regions of central 
Asia. They took possession of what is now southern 
China and there, having blended with other races, they 
make up to-day a large part of the population. Others 
of the Tai tribe pushed still farther south into the Indo- 
Chinese Peninsula. Some settled in the northern part 
of the peninsula where they live to-day and are called 
the Laos. Others of the adventurous Tai tribe reached 
the southern portions of the peninsula where they found 
a people who had built up a civilized country after the 


226 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


fashion of India. These inhabitants of the southern por- 
tions of the peninsula were called Cambodians. The Tai 
race and the Cambodian race mingled to form the present 
Siamese people. 

It thus happens that the people of North Siam and 
South Siam differ from one another in many ways. The 
Siamese are more cultured than the Laos, but are also 
indolent and not very responsive to the efforts of the 
missionaries. ‘The Laos, however, being a more vigorous 
people than the Siamese, although more uncivilized, have 
responded encouragingly to the gospel message. 

Great numbers of Chinese have come into Siam. ‘They 
carry on most of the agriculture, own most of the stores, 
and control the banking interests. The Chinese of Siam 
are a Stalwart and progressive people and have responded 
readily to the appeal of the gospel. Thus although the 
missionary work among the Siamese is difficult and some- 
times discouraging, the work among the laos and the 
Chinese is promising. If the hardy Laos and the indus- 
trious Chinese can be won for Christ, Siam will become a 
Christian land. 

A Land of Idols. The Siamese are Buddhists and the 
land is full of idols varying in size from a man’s thumb 
up to great images one hundred and fifty feet high. The 
most southern portions of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula 
are occupied by people of the Malayan race and they 
are Mohammedans. ‘The Laos of the north are nominally 
Buddhists, though their religion really consists in the 
worship of good and evil spirits. They seem to be by 
nature deeply religious and when once they accept the 
Christian religion they are devout and persevering mem- 
bers of the Church. 

A Challenge to the Presbyterian Church. Siam is in 
a peculiar sense a challenge to the Presbyterian Church 
in America. No other American denomination has any 
mission work in the country. If the 10,000,000 people of 
Siam are to be won for Christ, the task must be undertaken 
seriously by the Presbyterian churches of America. It is 
fortunate that such is the case. America has never taken 
away any of the territory of the Siamese kingdom as 
some other nations have done. ‘I‘his fair treatment has 
given the people of Siam a friendly attitude toward Amer- 


KINGDOM. TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 227 


icans. The King of Siam recently issued a proclamation 
in which he said: “The American missionaries have 
always been just and upright men. ‘The Government of 
Siam has great love and respect for them and has no 
fear whatever concerning them.” 

Millions as Yet Untouched. Siam is one of the most 
needy mission fields in the world. In certain parts of the 
country are large areas where no missionary has ever 
come to preach the gospel. Millions of people in Siam 
have never heard about the Saviour of the world who 
came to establish a Kingdom of universal brotherhood. 
Not more than one third of the great Tai race have ever 
heard of Christ. Because the Foreign Mission Board 
lacks money to send out the missionaries, the carrying 
of the gospel into the untouched portions of Siam is long 
delayed. 


THE LIVINGSTONE OF SIAM 


Rey. Daniel McGilvary might be called the “Living- 
stone of Siam.”’ While doing mission work in South Siam, 
he came in contact with a few of the Laos of North 
Siam and determined to visit the unknown regions from 
whence these people had come. The north country of Siam 
was at that time well-nigh inaccessible. ‘Travel in 
Siam was largely by river in those days and great rapids 
hindered any approach to the northern regions. In 1863, 
Dr. McGilvary and Rev. Jonathan Wilson started out in 
a small boat to explore the northern portions of the 
Indo-Chinese F’eninsula. Having journeyed as far as 
they could go by water, they purchased elephants and 
pushed on across the mountains and through the tropical 
jungles. Of the land which they visited Dr. McGilvary 
wrote saying, “Every place we came to we took posses- 
sion of it in the name of our Lord and Master.” 

The two missionaries finally reached a large city called 
Chiengmai where they preached to the people. With a 
few simple remedies Dr. McGilvary began to minister 
to those who were sick. He established five hospitals 
and a leper asylum. He introduced education among 
the Laos and organized eight boarding schools and 
twenty-two elementary schools. He spoke the message 
which won the first convert in North Siam. He organ- 


228 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


ized the first church among the Laos and after that helped 
to organize twenty others. He saw the little band of 
Laos Christians grow until they were several thousand 
in number. It is little wonder that the Laos love Dr. 
McGilvary and speak of him as their friend and father. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “Pen Picture of the Siam Mission,” Board of For- 
eign Missions. 

2. Sunday-school letters from missionaries in Siam. 
Board of Foreign Missions. 

3. Reports of the Board of Foreign Missions. 

4° “AvHalt Century Among’ the Siamese vangen ge 
Laos,” McGilvary. 

5. “The Oriental Land of the Free,” Freeman. 

6. Pamphlets published by the Presbyterian Board of 
Foreign Missions: “Child Life Among the Laos; sx 
Faithful Follower,’ ‘Historical Sketch of Missions,” 
“Home Life in Siam,” “Hospitals in Siam,” “How a Gov- 
ernor in’ Siam Found ‘Christ;7's A) Road@andseam sens. 
“Schools and Colleges in Siam,” “A Summer with the 
Dare peapleroim yannanes 

7, Vantern Slides?™ [Through oiamyn(/2isitaess 


SUNDAY SESSION 
ANSTO PEN DOOR LO THE MALAYAN RACE 
Reveot/-l5 


In these lessons we have been studying about mission 
work for the white race, the red race, the black race, and 
the yellow race. In this lesson we are to study about the 
door of opportunity which God has opened before the 
Christian Churches of America enabling them to reach 
the brown race. Thus our study has swept over the 
whole range of the races of mankind. ‘The brown race 
inhabit the Malay Peninsula and many of the islands 
lying off southeastern Asia. For the most part they are 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 229 


a people of physical excellence, and of great possibilities 
for intellectual and spiritual development. The ten mil- 
lions of people in the Philippine Islands are nearly all 
members of the brown, or Malayan, race. When these 
islands came under the protection of our country the 
way was opened for the introduction of Protestant Chris- 
tianity on a large scale. Very little missionary work 
had been done in the islands by the Protestant Church 
up to that time. In the book of Revelation, there is a mes- 
sage to the church at Philadelphia which says, “Behold, 
I have set before thee a door opened, which none can 
shut.” In his providence, God has set before the Pro- 
testant Church an open door in the Philippine Islands 
and no man can shut it. 

Foreign Missions Under the American Flag. The 
mission work in the Philippine Islands is peculiar in that 
it is looked upon by most denominations as foreign- 
mission work, and yet it is under the American flag. By 
assuining control of the Philippine Islands, our nation 
became responsible, in a certain measure, for their wel- 
fare. Our Government cannot carry on mission work in 
these islands, because in our country Church and State 
are separated. Responsibility for the spiritual welfare 
of the Philippine Islands is therefore thrown upon the 
Churches of our nation, What our Government has done 
for the public schools of the islands, our Churches ought 
to do for the church schools. 

Where Christians Meet Moslems in a Contest for the 
Malayan Race. In a previous lesson we saw how Mo- 
hammedans and Christians were competing with one an- 
other for the black natives of Africa. In the Philippine 
Islands, Christianity and Mohammedanism face each 
other in a contest for the Malayan race. Mohammedan- 
ism was planted in the Philippine Islands some centuries 
ago and it has conquered certain islands almost com- 
pletely. The Moro tribe are Mohammedans and they 
have caused much trouble to our Government. ‘There 
are scattered communities of Mohammedans in most of 
the islands. 

It seems probable that if the protection of the United 
States Government were withdrawn and the efforts of 
missionaries discontinued, the Mohammedan tribes would 


230 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


in time conquer all the islands and extinguish the Chris- 
tian faith. If the Protestant Churches can win the mil- 
lions of brown people in the Philippine Islands for Christ, 
this victory will go a long way toward winning the whole 
of the Malayan race for the religion of Jesus. Mission 
work in the Philippine Islands is therefore one of the 
strategic enterprises -of the Christian Church. 

Government Schools. As soon as our Government as- 
sumed control of the Philippine Islands, a shipload of 
school-teachers was sent across the Pacific to organize 
a school system for the Filipinos. This ship has been 
referred to as the New Mayflower. So faithfully did 
these teachers labor at their task that within a few years 
public schools were planted over nearly all the islands. 
The public schools have wrought marvelous changes in 
the ‘islands; “Under the -rulesof Spaim® theresnadmbecr 
hardly any schools for the natives and the percentage of 
illiteracy was very great. At present, most of the children 
and young people can read and write, and many of them 
have received a liberal education. 

Growth of the Philippine Missions. Education and 
evangelism usually go hand in hand. The creation of 
almost universal education in the Philippine Islands has 
opened the way for missionary work. The people are 
losing the pagan superstitions which had clung to them 
during all the centuries of Spanish rule. Education has 
given them a hunger for religious truth. Few mission 
fields have made greater progress than the Philippine 
Mission. ‘Twenty years ago there were hardly a hundred 
native Protestant Christians in all the islands. ‘To-day 
the number is not far from one hundred thousand. It 
seems certain that if the churches of America will sup- 
port the Philippine Mission with their prayers and their 
offerings, practically the whole population may be won 
for the Christian faith. 

An Independent Catholic Church. Most of the Philip- 
pine people are nominal Roman Catholics. A few years 
ago an Independent Catholic Church was formed under 
the leadership of a native priest. It grew rapidiy in mem- 
bership until it numbered more than three million among 
its adherents. Of late this Independent Catholic Church 
of the Philippine Islands has been declining in member- 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 231 


ship. Many of its members have become Protestants; 
some have ceased to maintain membership in any Church 
organization, and some have returned to the Roman 
Church. The movement shows the readiness with which 
the natives of the islands give up their allegiance to the 
Church of Rome. 

Silliman Institute. One of the greatest of the mission 
schools in the Philippine Islands is called Silliman Insti- 
tute. It offers courses of academic and college grade. 
Students come to this school from all over the Philippine 
Islands and from China and Japan. The school has had 
a remarkable influence over its students. More than two 
thousand young people have become Protestant Christians 
while studying in its classes. These converts have gone 
out to all sections of the islands to become the leaders 
in business and in education. They have thus spread the 
Christian faith all over the country. 

General Wood in the Philippine Islands. A few state- 
ments concerning the work of General Leonard Wood 
as governor of the Philippine Islands will illustrate what 
our Government has been trying to do there. During his 
first year as governor, General Wood opened up a large 
irrigating system which gave homes to hundreds of Fili- 
pino families. These families had belonged to a class 
called the “peons.” ‘These peons were but little better 
off than slaves, but when placed on the irrigated farms 
which General Wood had prepared for them they became 
self-respecting and prosperous citizens. 

For many years the Filipino people have suffered heavy 
losses from a disease of their cattle which is called 
“rinderpest.” Under the direction of General Wood a 
method of vaccinating cattle was developed which makes 
them immune to the rinderpest. In this way the natives 
of the islands are saved many thousands of dollars every 
year. 

General Wood has developed many little ports at vari- 
ous points in the islands so that the Filipino farmers no 
ionger have to send their products to Manila or some 
large city for shipment. A system whereby the people 
can take homesteads has been put in operation. The 
health system of the islands has been created under the 
direction of our Government, 


232. KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


General Wood is doing much to develop the sugar in- 
dustry in the islands and it is a significant tact that during 
the first year of his administration, the exports of sugar 
were twice as large as they had been in any previous 
year. If the rich cane lands of the islands were fully 
developed, the output of sugar from them would be larger 
than that of Cuba.. > 

A hospital for lepers is maintained at Culion in the 
Philippine Islands and General Wood has taken a great 
interest in the institution. He has secured physicians 
and nurses. He has made it possible for the lepers to 
receive the chaulmoogra-oil treatment which has enabled 
the physicians greatly to improve the condition of the 
lepers and to cure some oi them. This successful treat- 
ment of the dreaded leprosy has put new hope into the 
wretched lepers of Culion. As a leper of Galilee once 
raised his hands to Jesus saying, “If thou wilt, thou canst 
make me clean,’ so the lepers of the Philippine Islands 
are now looking to American followers of Jesus with 
newborn hope. 

When General Wood was about to give up the gover- 
norship of the islands and to return to America, the poor 
lepers of Culion sent him a letter. In this letter they 
said: “For many long years we had nothing to look for- 
ward to but an open grave. With your coming a new 
star shone above our narrow horizons, the star of hope. 
Through your vivid interest in our welfare the new treat- 
ment has been extended to us. A new trail, thanks to 
your interest in our behalf, has been blazed for us across 
the vale of despondency and despair leading to a new 
and wonderful existence.” This incident shows what a 
great amount of real missionary work can be done in the 
Philippine Islands by a busy Government official. 


How A Mission PREACHER Got A CHICKEN DINNER 


For many centuries cockfighting has been a leading 
sport in the Philippine Islands. The natives dig a shallow 
pit in which they place the roosters that they may fight. 
The sport has become a great evil, not only because of 
its cruelty, but because of the gambling connected with 
it. In the old days before the coming of the Americans. 


RINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES >> 233 


Sunday was the great cockfighting day. Many of the 
owners of fighting roosters would come to church Sunday 
morning with their roosters under their arms in order to 
be ready for the contests immediately after the close of 
the church services. 

In a certain mission, revival services were being car- 
ried on and on Saturday night an old gambler came into 
the meeting with his rooster tucked under his arm. 
While the preacher preached, the old man stroked and 
petted his rooster. But the words of the preacher began 
to sink into the heart and mind of the old gambler. He 
had never heard such words before. When an invitation 
was made for all who wished to accept Christ to come 
forward, the old gambler came carrying his rooster with 
him. 

The next day was Sunday and the one-time gambler 
and owner of fighting roosters was at the church bright 
and early. Ele joined the Bible class in order that he 
might learn more about the new religion which had 
brought him already such joy and satisfaction. He no 
longer carried his rooster, for he had sent it to the 
preacher for his Sunday dinner. 


Tuer Lesson PRAYER 


We thank thee, our Father in heaven, for great and 
worthy tasks. We thank thee that thou hast opened 
before the Church of our day such great opportunities 
for service. We ask thee to bless the work of the mis- 
sionaries in Siam and in the Philippine Islands. Help 
us to do our part in carrying on the missionary task, 
whatever part thou mayest choose. We ask in the name 
of thy Son, our Lord. Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “Pen Picture of the Philippine Mission,” Board of 
Foreign Missions, 

2. Sunday-school letters from missionaries in the 
Philippine Islands. Board of Foreign Missions. 

3. Pamphlets published by the Presbyterian Board of 
Foreign Missions: “The Flag and the Cross in the Phil- 


234 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


ippines,” “General Wood in the Philippines,’ “Hospitals 
in the Philippines,’ “Once Upon a Time in the Philip- 
pines,” “The New Filipino,” “With the Army of the 
Cross,” “Schools and Colleges in the Philippines.” 

4. Lantern Slide Lecture: “Philippine Islands” (74 
slides). 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 
CHRISTIAN OR PAGAN 
II Kings 17:7-18 


The verses of our lesson tell of the tragic failure of the 
Kingdom of Israel. In spite of all that God had done 
for the Israelites, in spite of God’s commandments and 
frequent warnings, the peopie of the Kingdom of Israel 
became vile idolators. They were conquered by the 
paganism which lay about them on the right hand and 
on the left. 

Every nation must wage a fight against paganism, if 
it is to advance in; Christian civilization’ | Pheresaremin 
our own country forces which are paganizing forces. 

The battle between paganism and Christianity must 
go on within the life of the indivdual. If we grow care- 
less and live, not according to the high standards of Jesus, 
but according to the low standards of paganism, we shall 
find ourselves sinking down into a pagan type of life 
and character. Paganism is having its way with a good 
many people in our country. A boy or girl who lives for 
selfish pleasures, who is not stirred by thoughts of service 
and of purity, is living on a pagan level. If any pupil 
who studies these lessons says, “I don’t care anything 
about missions and missionaries,” there is evidence that 
the pupil thus speaking is living a pagan life. Pagan 
peoples do not care anything about missions or mis- 
sionaries either. 


SOME Facts to BE DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


Indifference is often a more serious hindrance than 
active opposition on the mission field. The people of 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES — 235 


South Siam have never persecuted those who became 
Christians, they have remained indifferent to the gospel 
for the most part and not very great progress has been 
made. The people of North Siam at one time persecuted 
and killed the native Christians among them, but they 
have since turned to the Christian religion in large num- 
bers. 

Paganism is full of superstition and superstition grows 
in the darkness of ignorance. Schools, if they are of the 
right kind, are a foe to paganism. Unfortunately some 
schocls have been made instruments for propagating 
pagan ideas. 

The Philippine Islands have an area equal to that ot 
Arizona. They are so fertile, however, that with only 
the most primitive methods of agriculture they support 
more than ten million people. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Where is the Indo-Chinese Peninsula? ‘l'ell some- 
thing of its people. 

2. Tell something of the Tai race. 

3. Why is mission work in Siam of special impor- 
tance? 

4. What opportunity for reaching the Malay race has 
come to the Churches of America? 

5. ‘Tell of the mission work in the Philippine Islands. 

6. What has the United States done to help the Fili- 
pinos? 


BIBLE VERSES 


Matt@0;/ eocvomeg 21°81) lolne 5:4 eReve 27; 17) 
CO oor) seGorsOe2 6101139 Deute4 le 2- Slik, 


‘Topics 


1. Some of Moses’ warnings concerning paganism. 
Deut. 6:10-15. 

2, Israel growing pagan through the greed of gain. 
Amos 8:4-8. 


3. Pagan attitudes toward property. Luke 12:15-21. 


236 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


4, Pagan ambitions. Luke 22:24-26. 

5. How the Philippine Islands came under American 
control. 

6. How churches and Sunday schools keep a nation 
from becoming pagan. 


PROJECTS 


Collect Sunday-school and Christian Endeavor sup- 
phes, not more than six months old, to be sent to the 
Philippine Islands through the Foreign Mission Board. 


' 
a ities: J 
Nea ae 





SOVNVHdYO HVHSNVWYAM AHL JO Nad IIHO 





GEA Rael 
MISSIONS IN MOHAMMEDAN LANDS 
WEEK DAY SESSION 


PEANIINGT GH GeGlhRts  LTANSPADEIOIN: PERSIA 
Rev. 2:8-11 


Our Scripture lesson is a message to a church which 
was suffering persecutions and tribulations. Its members 
were being cast into prison and even darker days seemed 
to be just ahead. Speaking in the name of his Master 
and Lord, the disciple John urged the persecuted Chris- 
tians of Smyrna to be faithful to the end. It costs so 
little to be a Christian in our land that we sometimes for- 
get that in some other lands people are even to-day laying 
down their lives for the Christian religion. In this lesson 
we are to learn about Chiistian missionaries and native 
converts who have suffered for their faith in our own 
day even as the Christians of Smyrna suffered so long 
ago. 

An Ancient Nation Which Has Survived Many 
Changes. Persia is a Bible land. It is the country of 
Cyrus who commanded that the Jews of Babylon be per- 
mitted to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. In Persia, Ar- 
taxerxes was a king and Esther was his queen. The tomb 
of Esther and the tomb of Mordecai, her uncle, are 
pointed out to-day in Persia. It was from Persia that the 
Magi came to Jerusalem saying, “Where is he that is 
born King of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, 
and are come to worship him.” 

Moreover, the Persia of to-day is the same nation as 
that over which Cyrus ruled. Never absorbed into the 
Roman Empire, it has kept its identity through all the 
centuries. Its population is made up largely of the de- 
scendants of the ancient Persian monarchy, though suc- 
cessive invasions have introduced a number of alien races 
and alien languages. 

20d, 


238 KINGDOM TASKS FOR: YOUNG DISCIPLES 


The Geography of Persia. Persia is as large as that 
portion of the United States which lies east of the Mis- 
sissippi River and between the Great Lakes and the Gulf 
of Mexico. It has a diversified climate owing to its great 
variations in elevation. The region around the southern 
shore of the Caspian Sea is eighty-five feet below the 
level of the ocean and has an almost tropical climate with 
luxuriant vegetation. Mount Demovand, east of the city 
of Teheran, is nearly 20,000 ieet high and covered with 
perpetual snow. In the southeastern section of the coun- 
try theresdicssarcrcatsdesct. 

Races and Religions of Persia. The people of ancient 
Persia were Aryans and, as has been said, the descendants 
of this ancient population make up the larger portion of 
the people inhabiting the nation to-day. Besides the Per- 
sians, there are certain wild tribes, known as Kurds, who 
are Aryans. The Armenians are found in the cities and 
in some smaller communities at various places. The 
Armenians are also Aryans. The Syrians, the Arabs, 
and the Jews, are of the Semitic race.” [hes |ews vom pete 
sia are the descendants of the lost tribes carried away by 
the Assyrians and also descendants of the Jews who were 
later carried away from Judea by Nebuchadnezzar. There 
are a few Turks resident in Persia and thus the yellow 
race is represented. 

Mohammedanism is the leading religion of Persia, but 
it is a somewhat different religion from the Moham- 
medanism of Turkey and most other Mohammedan coun- 
tries. It differs from the Mohammedanism of Turkey 
somewhat as the Protestant religion differs from the 
Roman Catholic religion. Most of the Mohammedans of 
Persia are more responsive to the gospel appeal than are 
the Mohammedans in other lands. 

A great religious teacher called Zoroaster lived in Per- 
sia about a thousand years before the birth of Christ. 


He taught that there was one living and true God and the > 
Persians became worshipers of a Supreme Being whom 
they recognized as the same as Jehovah of the Jews. 


For many centuries the religion of Zoroaster was the 
religion of the Persian nation. It was almost destroyed, 
however, when the Mohammedans conquered Persia in 
641 A. D. The religion of Zoroaster has not wholly per- 


cri.) ore 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 239 


ished for here and there in Persia there are little groups 
of people who still worship the God of Zoroaster. 

The Syrians and Armenians are Christians. They are 
scattered remnants of Christian populations which were 
once strong, but have suffered persecutions for many cen- 
turies at the hands of the Mohammedans. ‘Through cen- 
turies of persecution these Christians have kept the faith, 
though it must be contessed that their lives have in many 
cases been tarnished by the immorality and superstition 
which have so long surrounded them on every side. 

Persia in the World War. The World War brought 
terrific tribulations to the Christians of Persia. A splen- 
did missionary work had slowly grown up at Urumia 
during the years which preceded the world conflict. There 
were native churches, hospitals, and well-organized col- 
leges. But Urumia lay near the boundary of Turkey 
and nearer still to the mountains inhabited by the Kurds. 
In the winter of 1915, a terrible blow fell upon the As- 
syrian Christians of Urumia. The fortunes of war had 
compelled the Russians to withdraw their troops from 
Persia and hordes of Turks and Kurds poured into the 
territory about Urumia. They swept the country with 
fire and massacre. ‘Terrified fugitives poured into the 
mission compounds until there were many thousands of 
them crowded under the American flag, the only place 
where they had any chance to save themselves from the 
Turks and Kurds, for these enemies of the Christian 
Assyrians did not dare to dishonor the flag of America. 

In the crowded compounds, epidemics of cholera and 
typhoid broke out, and one fourth of the refugees died in 
spite of the heroic efforts ot the missionaries to relieve 
their sufferings. The missionaries gladly shared food, 
medicines, and clothing with the refugees and suffered 
as they suffered. 

After five dreadful months the Russian troops again ap- 
peared and the Turks and Kurds withdrew from the coun- 
try. The Assyrians went back to their ruined homes and 
began to rebuild their houses and to cultivate their land. 
Then came the tragic break-up of the Russian Empire. 
The Russian troops disappeared. The Turks and Kurds 
were soon sweeping the Assyrians out of all the country 
districts into Urumia. Assyrian Christians and the mis- 


240 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


sionaries knew that far to the south a British army was 
advancing through Mesopotamia and their eyes were ever 
turned hopefully in that direction. The Assyrians armed 
themselves as best they could and heroically withstood 
their powerful foes. Day after day they hoped and prayed 
for the coming of the British troops and day by day their 
foes pressed them more closely. At iast they could hold 
out no longer and the whole Assyrian population started 
southward on a panic-stricken flight. The little Assyrian 
army battled desperately to protect the rear of the fugi- 
tive host. The retreat became a désperatéarace moms 
People threw away the little articles which they had 
brought from their homes and the roadsides were littered 
with these mementos of homes which had been destroyed. 
Parents left heir children by the road when the little 
ones could no longer walk with the fleeing host. 

With terrible persistence the Turks and Kurds hung 
on the flanks of the retreating column and it seemed as 
if the whole company of Assyrians must perish. Then 
a great shout arose from the foremost Assyrians. They 
had seen far ahead of them a little company of khaki- 
clad soldiers coming forward to meet them. ‘There were 
only a few of the British soldiers, but they had machine 
guns with them and, passing quickly to the rear, they 
soon put a stop to the advance of the Turks and Kurds. 

After the war had ended, the Assyrians began to come 
back to their ruined homes at Urumia, but in 1919 they 
were again attacked by their enemies. This time the 
Turks and Kurds would have made an end of the As- 
syrian Christians, had not the United States Consul at 
Tabriz interfered. As it was, only about six hundred 
were left alive. 

Missionaries Who One by One Fell at Their Posts. 
The heroic devotion of the American missionaries during 
the Turkish and Kurdish invasions is a splendid example 
of that self-sacrificing service which the Christian religion 
has developed in the true followers of Christ in every 
century. During the five months of the first invasion, 
when epidemics had broken out among the crowded refu- 
gees, the missionaries worked night and day to relieve 
the suffering and to stay the course of the malady. Be- 
fore relief came, two of the misionaries, Mrs. Louise 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 241 


Shedd and Mrs. Mary McDowell, were stricken and died 
and their bodies were laid to rest among the bodies of 
those they had sought to save. 

When the great flight from Urumia began, Dr. and 
Mrs. William A. Shedd decided to go with the fugitives 
while a number of other missionaries remained behind to 
face the Turks and Kurds. Dr. Shedd was like a com- 
mander in chief of the retreating throng. On his horse 
he galloped along the rear counseling the little band ot 
Syrians as to how they could best ward off the pursuing 
enemy. Then he was off along the line helping the sick 
or encouraging those whose hearts were ready to faint. 
Day after day he was at his task with almost no time for 
a moment’s rest. He was stricken with a malady which 
later proved to be cholera, but he kept right on. 

When the British soldiers appeared, the light of a great 
joy shone in the face of the missionary. He had shep- 
herded his people safely through their fiery trial and here 
was help at last. But the terrific strain and the deadly 
malady with which his body was afflicted proved to be 
too much for even the rugged strength of Dr. Shedd. 
The night after the British soldiers came he suffered a 
physical collapse and at dawn he died. ‘The soldiers 
scooped a shallow grave beside the road and there they 
buried him in one of the most lonely parts of Persia. 

The missionaries who remained in Urumia were made 
prisoners by the Turks and during the period of their 
confinement Miss Leonore Schoebel died. Dr. Vanne- 
man and Mr. Jessup, two other missionaries, were cast 
into a prison and suffered many hardships from the effects 
of which Mr. Jessup died. Before the end of the war 
three other missionaries had fallen at their posts of duty. 
These missionaries were Dr. L. F. Esselstyn, Rev. C. A. 
Douglas, and Dr. S. G. Wilson. 


A PERSIAN CHRISTIAN WuHo WAS FAITHFUL 
TO THE END 


How hard has been the lot of the Mohammedans who 
have accepted the Christian religion is shown by the 
story of Mirza Ibrahim. In 1890, Mirza became a Chris- 
tian. His wife and children at once left him and dis- 


242 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


owned him, taking all the property belonging to the 
family, as the Mohammedan laws provide that the rela- 
tives of one who accepts Christ may do. Mirza went 
about the streets preaching until he was arrested and 
brought before the governor. The governor asked him 
about his religion and about his opinion concerning Jesus. 
Mirza said that he was a Christian and that Jesus was 
his Saviour. ‘Thereupon the Mohammedans who filled 
the court room began to cry out: “Beat him! Beat him 
to death!” Mirza’s only remark as blows fell upon him 
was, “So my Saviour was beaten.” 

After spending some time in the prison at Urumia, 
Mirza was summoned to Tabriz. He knew that he would 
never see his native town again, and as he was leaving 
he said to his few friends: “Pray for me that I may be a 
witness for Christ before the great of my people. I have 
no fear though I know I shall die.” In Tabriz his clothes 
were taken from him and he was cast into a dungeon 
where he was chained to a gang of desperate criminals. 
In the dungeon he was set upon by the prisoners to 
whom he was chained and was so severely beaten that he 
died. When the Crown Prince of Persia heard that Mirza 
was dead, he asked the jailor how he had died. The 
jailor’s only reply was, ‘He died like a Christian.” His 
martyrdom sent a thrill through all Persia and touched 
the hearts of fanatical Mohammedans as the death of 
Stephen touched the heart of Saul of Tarsus. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “Pen Pictures of the East and West Persia Mis- 
sions,” Board of Foreign Missions. 

2. Report of the Board of Foreign Missions. 

3. Sunday-school letters from missionaries in Persia. 
ete Slides: “The Menace of Mohammedanism” (70 
slides). 

4. “The Story of Our Syria Mission,” M. McGilvary. 
2H “The Near East: Crossroads of the World,” W. H. 
all. 

6. “When I Was a Boy in Persia,” Y. B. Mirza. 

7. “In Camel Lands,” George H. Trull (free). 

8. “William Ambrose Shedd, Christian” (free leaflet). 





KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 243 


9. “Shepherd of Aintab,” Alice 8. Riggs. 
10. “When I Wasva Boy in Palestine,” NO eialeeks 


SUNDAY SESSION 
RECLAIMING SYRIA AND PALESTINE FOR CHRIST 
Isa. 61 :1-9 


In the passage of Scripture chosen as a basis for this 
lesson, Isaiah foretold a time when the land of Palestine 
should be restored to that beauty and fruitfulness which 
had belonged to it before the invasions of the Assyrians 
had devastated it and left its cities in ruins. He also 
foretold a day of honor and peace for the Jews as the 
chosen people of God: “Everlasting joy shall be unto 
them. For I, Jehovah, love justice, I hate robbery with 
iniquity ; and I will give them their recompense in truth, 
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.” 

These promises were fulfilled, in part, when the Jews 
came back to their land to rebuild the Temple and the 
walls of their ruined capital. Many Bible students be- 
lieve that they will receive their complete fulfillment at 
some future time when the Jews have accepted Jesus as 
the Messiah and the religion of Jesus has been spread 
over all the earth. -God uses the efforts of his earthly 
children to carry out his plans and he is doubtless work- 
ing toward the fulfillment of this prophecy as he inspires 
Christians to carry the gospel of Jesus to the uttermost 
parts of the earth. 

Countries Which Were Once Christian. In this lesson 
we are to study about lands which are intimately con- 
nected with the Bible. In Palestine and Syria most of 
the events described in the Bible occurred. Most of the 
Bible was written by people who were living in Palestine. 
Moreover, these lands were once Christian. Not all of 
the people living in them were followers of Christ, but 
for several centuries the majority of people in them were. 
In Palestine there were many Jews and there were still 
a good many pagans in Syria even when Christianity was 
at its strongest in these two lands, but the Christians 


244 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


were in the majority and they were the rulers of the 
country. 

Christianity was nearly destroyed in Syria and Pales- 
tine by the invasion of the Mohammedans in the seventh 
century. Great Christian churches in Damascus and 
other cities were turned into Mohammedan mosques. 
The cross, the emblem of Christianity, was torn down, 
and replaced by the crescent, the emblem of Moham- 
medanism. Mission work in Syria and Palestine is there- 
fore an effort to recover lost ground, to plant the religion 
of Jesus in a soil from which it has been uprooted by the 
invading forces of another religion, in many ways so op- 
posite to that taught by Jesus of Nazareth. 

Some Outstanding Missionary Enterprises in Syria and 
Palestine. A few of the more outstanding missionary en- 
terprises now being carried on in Syria and Palestine will 
now be considered as samples of the work which the mis- 
sionaries are doing to regain these Bible lands for Christ. 
The work carried on in the places named is in most cases 
being carried on to a considerable extent in other parts 
of these two countries. 

The American Press at Beirut. Missionaries to Syria 
and Palestine early saw the importance of printing the 
Bible and Christian literature in the various languages 
spoken in these two countries. In 1822 they established 
a printing press in Malta. It began to print religious 
tracts in Italian, Greek, and Armeno-Turkish. So vigor- 
ously was this work pushed that in eight years over 
10,900,000 pages of literature had been printed and dis- 
tributed. This publishing work became known through- 
out the Orient as the American Press. In 1834 the Amer- 
ican Press was moved to Beirut in order that it might 
more efficientiy minister to the Arabic and Moslem world. 
Here the work has been carried on ever since. One of its 
greatest accomplishments was the printing of the entire 
Bible in the Arabic language. Certain scholars connected 
with the American Press, together with several learned 
Arabs, labored sixteen years to bring out the Arabic 
Bible. When their work was completed, they were able 
to give to the Arabic-speaking world a Bible accurate in 
its translation and beautiful in its language. 

For a hundred years the American Press has been send- 


—_—— 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 245 


ing forth Bibles and Christian literature into all the coun- 
tries of the Near East. The change which is coming 
over that region both in things spiritual and things ma- 
terial is illustrated by an incident which occurred a few 
months ago. An airplane came gliding down to the 
landing field at Beirut. Two days before it had left Busra 
far away in the valley of the Euphrates. In the mail car- 
ried by the aeronaut was a letter for the American Press. 
It contained an order for Bibles and Christian literature, 
the largest order the press had ever received from that 
country. The letter had been two days in reaching its 
destination. Before the air-mail route had been estab- 
lished such letters had to go by way of India, the Red 
Sea, and Egypt, and were three months in reaching their 
destination. 

The American University at Besrut. At Beirut the mis- 
sionaries have also built up a great university which is 
attended by a thousand pupils, most of them from Mo- 
hammedan homes. From this university hundreds of 
physicians and teachers are going out every year into 
the cities and towns and country districts of the Orient. 
Many of them leave the university as devoted foilowers 
of Jesus. Even those who have not come to an open 
decision for the Christian religion are sure to leave the 
university with a friendly feeling for Christian people. 
They become agents for breaking down that bitter antag- 
onism which Mohammedans have so long maintained 
against the religion of Jesus. 

The Hamlm Memorial Hospital. In a beautiful valley 
high up among the Lebanon Mountains missionaries and 
their friends have built a hospital for people suffering 
from tuberculosis. In the Orient the white plague is 
more dreaded than leprosy, because it is more deadly. 
Into this hospital with its clear, fresh, mountain air come 
people from all over the Orient who are afflicted with 
tuberculosis. Sometimes as many as six hundred are 
cared for in one year. Many of them, because of the 
excellent medical treatment they receive and because of 
the healthful location of the hospital, are sent home 
cured. 

Syria in the World War. Like Persia, Syria suffered 
severely during the World War. Cut off from communi- 


246 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


cation with the rest of the world, famine and disease 
made fearful inroads upon the people of Syria and Pales- 
tine. Nearly one third of the people died. Since the 
close of the war the American Red Cross and the Near 
East Relief have done much to save the perishing people 
of Syria. Thousands of orphans have been gathered into 
homes where they are fed, clothed, and educated. One of 
these orphanages is at Sidon; another is at Nazareth 
where Jesus lived as a child. 

The war and its sweeping changes has laid all Syria 
and all Palestine open to the gospel. ‘Phe dominion of 
the Turks, which for four hundred years had brought 
such sufferings to the people and which had thrown such 
hindrances in the way of the missionaries, is gone for- 
ever. The time has come for the Christians of the world 
to move forward to a reconquering of Bible lands for 
Jesus. 

Syria and Palestine are ready to turn to Christ if we 
do Gur part. Last year (1922) the number of pipes 
the Sunday schools of Syria increased fifty-seven per 
cent. A member of the Syrian mission is giving his time 
to traveling over Syria and Palestine that he may help 
the native Christians to organize Sunday schools and may 
show them how to improve their work. 


LAYING SIEGE TO THE CITADELS OF _ MOHAMMEDANISM 


We have seen enough of Mohammedanism in these 
lessons to realize that it is a deadly foe to the religion of 
Jesus. There is no compromise between the two. One 
or the other will triumph in the Orient and in the world. 
As Christians, we have no doubt as to which is to be the 
victor. Jesus said that his Church is founded upon a 
rock and that the gates of Hades should not prevail 
against it. We have a part, however, in making the re- 
ligion of Jesus supreme. If we fail to do our part, the 
cause of Christ will suffer long delay. 

The present would seem to be an opportune time to 
press the missionary work in Mohammedan countries. 
We have seen that Persia since the war is more open to 
the gospel than ever before. In Syria and Palestine, the 
doors to an advance of the Christian forces are wide 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 247 


open. Even in Turkey, which is the citadel of the Mo- 
hammedan religion, progress is being made. If the 
advance of Mohammedanism in Africa can be stopped by 
reaching the natives with the gospel before they accept 
the Moslem religion, and the Mohammedans of India, 
who are 70,000,000 strong, can be gradually won to 
Christ, Christianity will be in a position to besiege the 
very citadels of Islam. Here is a task which challenges 
the boys and girls of our day. It is a part of the age- 
long battle between light and darkness. Its battle lines 
are scattered over half the earth. On the issue of the 
conflict hang the present happiness and the eternal des- 
tiny of millions of our fellow men. In the World War 
it often happened that with his last breath a fallen soldier 
urged his comrades to press the charge, saying to them, 
“Carry on; carry on!” We have seen how noble soldiers 
of the missionary army like Shedd and Douglas are 
falling in the battle to plant the cross in Mohammedan 
lands. Their places must be filled. If the victory is to 
be won, the youths of America must carry on the work 
which these heroes of the faith have begun. 


Tuer Lesson PRAYER 


Our Father in heaven, we believe that thou art calling 
thy children to the great task of winning the world for 
thy Son. We believe that thou hast a part for each of us 
to perform in this great work. Show us what we can do 
for thee and for our fellow men. Give us wisdom and 
consecration. Grant that none of us may live shallow 
and selfish lives in times like these when such great issues 
are at stake. Weask in Jesus’ name. Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “Pen Picture of the Syria Mission,” Board of For- 
eign Missions. 


2. Sunday-school ietters from missionaries in Syria. 
Board of Foreign Missions. 


9 


3. “Home Life in Syria,” Board of Foreign Missions. 
4. Lantern Slides: “Syria” (92 slides); “Persia” (86 
slides). 


248 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 


THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. CRUSADE 
Eph. 6 :10-20 


The story of the Crusades is one of the most inter- 
esting chapters of medieval history. It is a story of 
heroic enthusiasm and equally heroic endeavors. And 
yet the Crusades are for the most part illustrations of 
mistaken zeal. The Crusaders did not really know the 
heart of the Founder of the Christian religion. They 
thought that they were doing him great service when 
they fought to recover his birthplace and his tomb from 
the hands of unbelievers. Because their goal was un- 
worthy, the Crusades failed. God was, indeed, able to 
bring much good out of these great movements, but in 
their chief objective the Crusades were a failure. They 
barely recovered the sacred sites of Palestine and held 
them with much difficulty, only to lose them again. 

The missionary enterprise of our own day is like an- 
other crusade. It 1s a crusade ona far vaster scale than 
were the crusades of the Middle Ages, for it is an attempt 
to conquer not only Palestine but also the whole world 
for Jesus. It is a crusade with a noble aim, a goal worthy 
of the Founder of the Christian Church, the goal which 
he set before his followers. ‘The missionary enterprise 
is the “Twentieth Century Crusade.” It will not fail as 
the medieval crusades failed, for it is in harmony with the 
plans of God. But it needs the whole-hearted backing of 
every Christian. 

When Peter the Hermit went about through Europe 
preaching the First Crusade, people got out their armor 
and sharpened their weapons. ‘They fastened crosses 
made of white cloth on their breasts, on their shields, 
and on their banners. In the sixth chapter of Ephesians, 
Paul uttered a ringing call to the people of his day to 
join in a crusade against the rulers of darkness and 
against the hosts of wickedness. His call is just as much 
a call to us as it was to the people of Ephesus. We as 
followers of Jesus must enlist in a crusade against the 
darkness and wickedness of the world as it is to-day. 


| 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 249 


We need the armor which Paul so enthusiastically recom- 
mended to the Christians of Ephesus. 


SomgE Facts To BE DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


There is one physician for every 80,000 people in Persia. 
Medical missions are being everywhere welcomed in this 
ancient land. 

Arabia is a Mohammedan land as yet almost untouched 
by Protestant missions. The largest unexplored regions 
in the world are said to be in the center of the Arabian 
peninsula. Arabia was freed from Turkish control dur- 
ing the World War and the prospects for successful mis- 
sionary work in that country have been greatly increased. 

Persia has thirteen hospitals. Two of these are main- 
tained by the Persian Government; one is an independent 
institution; and ten are supported as missionary enter- 
prises. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Tell something of the geography of Persia. 

2. What races and what religions are found in Persia? 

3. Tell of the hardships through which the Persian 
Christians passed during the World War. 

4. Tell something of the mission work carried on in 
Syria and Palestine. 

5. Why is the present a time of great opportunity in 
the mission fields of Mohammedan lands? 


BIBLE VERSES 


Tete ae Ose | een ove). e\latt, 2O1los¢ Mark 
ioepomeleuke24 45-47 Acts 1128" 26:16-18. Phil 29-1): 
Rom. 14:11; Rev. 5 :9-14. 


‘Topics 


1. The Crusades. (Look up subject in some history 
of the Middle Ages.) 

meee Ome reat inissionaryebsalinsc. wesalms.2:/2;) 110: 

3. Missionary utterances of the prophets. See Isa., 
Gricmime OOM alvech: 4 


250 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


4. Some great missionary hymns. (Select and study 
some missionary hymns in The Hymnal.) 

5. The beginning of the foreign-mission enterprise. 
Acts 13:1-3. 

6. How Mohammedanism differs from Christianity. 

7. Why mission work in Syria and Palestine is espe- 
cially important. — 


PROJECTS 


Collect papers and magazines for use in the orphanages 
and missions of Syria and Palestine. Have each member 
of the class undertake to secure a graphophone record to 
be sent to some mission station. Gather flower seeds and 
place them in marked envelopes to be sent to mission 
stations of Syria. 


SECTION III 


WORLD-WIDE TASKS IN WHICH CHRISTIANS 
OF ALL LANDS MUST WORK TOGETHER 


“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy moun- 
tain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.”—Isa. 11:9, 

“And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and 
their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lft up 
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any 
more.”—Micah 4:3 b, c. 

“Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also 
that believe on me through their word; that they may all 
be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, 
that they also may be in us: that the world may believe 
that thou didst send me.”—John 17:20, 21. 

“But they shall sit every man under his vine and under 
his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the 
mouth of Jehovah of hosts hath spoken it.”—Micah 4:4. 


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GHAD TER AX VII 
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF WORLD PEACE 
WEEK DAY SESSION 


THE WASTE AND FOLLY OF WAR 
II Kings 14:8-14 


Amaziah began to reign over the Kingdom of Judah 
when he was twenty-five years of age. Early in his reign 
he waged war with the Edomites and defeated them in 
the valley of Salt. Pushing on into the territory of the 
Edomites he captured their capital, Sela, and scattered 
the remnants of their army over a wide region. This 
victory freed the Kingdom of Israel from a long-standing 
menace. Ever since the Edomites had thrown off the 
Israelitish yoke which David imposed upon them, they 
had threatened the land of Judah, as it were, from the 
rear. The armies of Judah could not confidently face 
their enemies in the north while these enemies in the 
south were unsubdued. 

There is no such thing as a just war, though war may 
be waged justly, and perhaps the young king of Judah 
was justified in waging war with Edom. However, his 
victory over the Edomites had two disastrous results. 
Amaziah brought back from Edom the idols of the 
Edomites and set them up in Jerusalem. He had con- 
quered the Edomites, but the evil religion of the Edom- 
ites conquered him, for we are told that he worshiped 
these idols which he had brought into his capital. Vic- 
tory likewise gave Amaziah a hking for warfare. He 
evidently came to think that war was a fine thing for 
a nation. His nation was then at peace with the King- 
dom of Israel, but the haughty Amaziah sent a mes- 
senger to the king of Israel saying, “Come, let us look 
one another in the face.” Amaziah had grown fond of 
war. He was so fond of it that he sent this challenge 

20 


254 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


to the king of a neighboring nation. He wished to fight 
for the sake of fighting. 

The king of Israel was not anxious to fight. He told 
Amaziah that the victory over Edom had made him 
proud, and suggested that he might find the conquest 
of the Kingdom of Israel quite a different matter from 
the conquest of Edom. He advised King Amaziah to 
remain at home and not to meddle with the affairs of 
his neighbors to his own hurt. Amaziah, however, would 
not hear. Gathering an army he invaded the territory 
of Israel. 

In the battle Amaziah’s troops were disastrously de- 
feated. Amaziah himself was made a prisoner. ‘The 
victorious army of Israel marched to Jerusalem. The 
city surrendered without resistance, as its king was a 
prisoner and its army scattered. Then the conquerors 
tore down a great section of the city wall and, entering 
the Temple, plundered it of its precious gold and silver 
ornaments and carried away its sacred vessels. They 
likewise entered the palace of the king and stripped it of 
its treasures. Then the Israelites withdrew, taking 
with them as hostages many of the leading citizens of 
Jerusalem. 

Amaziah never recovered from his great mistake. He 
had gone to war for war's sake and the backwash of 
war ruined him. He never regained the confidence of 
his subjects but was finally forced to flee from the city 
of Jerusalem in order to save his life. After he had been 
an exile for twelve years, his enemies succeeded in reach- 
ing him and they slew him. The world has recently wit- 
nessed some colossal illustrations of the truth made 
plain in the fate of King Amaziah. Amaziah found out 
that they who lay hold upon the sword to make them- 
selves great ultimately perish by the sword. 

The Great Destroyer. War has ever been the great 
destroyer of the race. It is the destroyer of lives. In 
the World War millions perished on the field of battle 
and as the result of the hardships incident to warfare. 
the great conflict bred plagues which swept across the 
world, leaving death and sorrow in every nation on earth. 
War is a great destroyer of property. It means ruined 
homes, devastated regions, railroads and great city build- 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 255 


ings torn to flinders. War is a destroyer of civilization. 
It was war that came like a dark storm at noontime and 
put an end to the brilliant day of Grecian civilization. 

The Cost of War. It is said that ninety per cent of 
the taxes in our country are used to pay for wars past 
or prospective. In countries where great standing 
armies are maintained the cost of war is even greater 
than in our own. One of the huge guns on a battleship 
costs as much as a modern high-school building, and 
after it has been fired a few hundred times it is fit only 
for the scrap heap. Every shot from such a gun costs 
enough to buy a comfortable home for a workingman. 

If the money expended for war could be used for the 
good of the human race, it would bring an almost 1m- 
measurable benefit. It would pay for constructing irri- 
gation systems which would reclaim large sections of 
the world’s deserts. It would pay for an efficient educa- 
tional system in most of the heathen nations of the earth. 
It would provide hospitals and physicians for the mil- 
lions of people in Africa and Asia who are without medi- 
cal attention. 

War and Racial Decay. Not only does war destroy 
the lives of individuals; the existence of the highest types 
of the human race is menaced by it. In a time of war 
the very best young men of a nation are sacrificed. If 
a young man is sickly, he remains at home. If he is 
mentally defective, he remains at home. If he is of a 
cowardly disposition, he is apt to find some way to keep 
in a place of safety. So it happens that the physically, 
mentally, and spiritually unfit are spared in war, and 
the young men who are most nearly perfect in body, 
mind, and spirit are sent to battle. Many of these best 
young men fall in the conflict or are slain by disease. 
They perish and their descendants who might have been 
perish with them. Thus the noblest strains of the Roman 
race were destroyed. Thus was the artistic and literary 
genius of the Greeks banished from the ancient world. 

War-Born Evils Which Blight the World. In times of 
war the seeds of new wars are sown broadcast. Hatred 
and envy and cruel oppression are developed in war and 
they last long after the fighting has ceased. They 
smolder like half-quenched fires and ever tend to break 


256 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


forth into flames again. From the World War an epi- 
demic of profanity spread across the world. The use 
of cigarettes likewise grew with astonishing rapidity 
during and after the great conflict. Moral standards 
were brought so low that the lost ground has not yet 
been recovered. During the World War, Sunday-school 
enrollment in the United States fell off by many millions. 

What the Next War Would Be Like. Brigadier 
General Amos A, Fries, Chief of the Chemical Warfare 
Service of the United States Army, has published a num- 
ber of articles telling what the next war would be like. 
Gases have been produced which are so deadly that if 
a single drop falls upon a man’s hand it kills him within 
a few minutes. In case of war, these gases would be 
carried by airplanes and sprayed out upon cities and 
towns so as to destroy all living things within them. In 
another great war there would be a “No Man’s Land,” 
not a few hundred yards wide as in the World War, but 
three hundred miles wide, military leaders say. Back of 
this devastated region would lay another belt a thousand 
miles broad, where every great city would be reduced 
to a smoldering heap of ruins. The next war, if it comes, 
will mean not only the destruction of soldiers in battle 
but also the destruction of the whole population over 
vast areas. 

The Causes of War. One of the most tragic elements 
in the World War lay in the fact that hundreds of thou- 
sands of Christian young men felt it to be their duty to 
go into that great conflict. They felt that loyalty to 
their nation and to their God compelled them to sac- 
rifice their own lives and to take the lives of their ene- 
mies. We cannot see how they could have done dif- 
ferently, but the fact remains that such things can be 
true only because of the enormous sin of somebody. The 
cause of war is wickedness. It springs from selfishness, 
hatred, cruelty, and envy. Some one’s sin is always at 
the root of every war. Sin is always a scourge to the 
innocent as well as to the guilty. Thousands of Christian 
young men in the World War had to die themselves and 
to take the lives of their fellow men because sin is a 
scourge for the innocent as well as for the guilty. And 
the soldiers were not. the only ones who suffered thus. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES (257 


Parents, wives, children, friends, even those who were 
far from the danger zone suffered, too. 

What a blighting, destroying, sorrow-producing thing 
war has been through all the centuries! What a bless- 
ing it would be if it could be banished forever from the 
earth! God has said in the Bible that war must some day 
end forever. He is doing his part to bring that day 
speedily to pass. He has supplied the means for end- 
ing war, and the task might have been completed long 
ago had men been true to God. 


CHILDREN WitHout FATHER, MOTHER, OR COUNTRY 


As these lessons are being written, appeals are being 
sent all over America asking people to help the tens of 
thousands of war orphans in the Near East. ‘These chil- 
dren are victims of the World War and the troublous 
times which have followed it in the Orient. ‘They are 
without mothers or fathers. Their parents were killed 
by bands of Kurds or by Turkish soldiers, or died 
from the hardships which the war brought to them. 
These children are without a country, for their home- 
lands have been taken from them. Their race has been 
expelled from its ancestral abode. They are out in the 
streets of the world with no place to call home. 

In one city seventeen thousand of these little children 
are being sheltered and fed by the agents of the Near 
East Relief. In the ancient city of Sidon other thou- 
sands are given a temporary home. Another group is 
being cared for in Nazareth of Galilee, where Jesus grew 
to manhood. Christian America will doubtless care for 
these helpless children, but something more than this 
is needed. The Christians of all the earth ought to join 
hands and say, “This shall never happen again.” 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. “The reign of the righteous king.”—Psalm 72. 

2. When Jesus wept over the coming desolations of 
war.—Luke 19 :41-44, 

3. Lantern Slides: “Humane Education” (fifty slides 
prepared by the Department of Moral Welfare, Board of 
Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church in the 
re Agy. 


* 


258 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 
SUNDAY SESSION 


THE OREIGNe OF? THES PRIN CHRO) hap AG 
Isa, °9:6-8 71 -1-9)" Micah 4125 


The prophets who wrote the verses of our Scripture 
lesson lived seven hundred years before the birth of 
Christ. Both of them were spiritual idealists. ‘They 
believed that the time would come when there would 
be no more war in all the world. In the midst of trou- 
blous times they looked forward to the coming of One 
who should be God’s Messenger and Representative in 
' a peculiar way, and who should establish righteousness 
and peace over all the earth. Some people cail such 
men as Isaiah and Micah visionaries. ‘They regard them 
as impractical: dreamers and scoff at their hopes of a 
golden age of righteousness and peace. ‘There were 
scoffers of this kind in the days of the Hebrew prophets. 
In fact, the prophets stood pretty much aione in their 
belief that God would banish war and wickedness from 
the earth. Because they looked forward to a warless 
world, the prophets labored to bring it to pass. They 
strove to make their dreams come true. ‘They preached 
righteousness and they practiced what they preached. 

The Prince of Peace Whom the Prophets Foresaw. 
The Hebrew prophets foresaw the coming of a Prince 
of Peace and they told the people of their day many 
things concerning this Deliverer whom Jehovah their 
God would send. Their prophecies were fulfilled when 
Jesus came to earth, or, rather, they began to be ful- 
filled with that event. Their complete fulfillment will 
come when Jesus is known and obeyed all over the 
world. He is the Prince of Peace whose coming the: 
prophets foretold. 

Some years ago a professor in a great European uni- 
versity told his classes that the time would never come 
when wars were forever ended. He said that war was 
in many ways the highest expression of civilization. His 
wicked denial of God’s Word has borne sad fruit for 
him and his nation. He and others like him led.a nation 
away from the truth and to-day their country is a sad 


RINGDOM TASKS FORV YOUNG DISCIPRUEDS: 259 


and ruined land. If the Hebrew prophets in the distant 
past and in the midst of almost continuous wars could 
believe in a warless world, surely Christians of our times 
ought to believe in the same ultimate triumph for right- 
eousness. For the prophets, Jesus was only a Hope, 
dimly seen on the horizons of the future; for us, he is 
the living and triumphant Prince of Peace who has shown 
the world the way to brotherhood. 

A Truly Christian World Would Be a Warless World. 
If the nations of the earth were wholly and truly Chris- 
tian, wars would not be possible. A nation wholly and 
truly Christian would be guided by a desire to serve all 
other nations and by a wish to help them attain the highest 
and best civilization possible. The fact is that even 
the nations where the Christian religion is strongest, and 
held in its purest form, have not applied the teachings 
of Jesus to their relationships with other nations in any 
teal way. So long as selfishness determines the attt- 
tudes which nations maintain toward one another, so 
long will they be to that extent governed by pagan ideals 
rather than by Christian ideals. 

The spirit of Christian helpfulness is beginning to be 
manifest among the nations and it promises great things 
for the future. Our nation manifested this spirit of jus- 
tice and helpfulness when it returned the Boxer in- 
demnity to China. We believe that we acted unselfishly 
when we as a nation helped Cuba to free herself from 
the rule of Spain, and then helped her to organize and 
to set in operation a government of her own. A good 
many years ago Great Britain waged war on China to 
compel the Chinese people to open their ports to the 
opium trade. Great Britain would not do that to-day. 
The conscience of the nations is slowly but surely be- 
coming enlightened by the teachings of Jesus. 

Not War but Law. War undertakes to settle dis- 
putes by force. It goes on the assumption that might 
makes right. The pagan world has long been governed 
by these false standards. Christianity seeks to ‘establish 
a civilization built, not on force, but on certain eternal 
principles of justice and righteousness. It seeks to estab- 
lish laws which will secure liberty and justice for all. 
In lands like ours, laws have been established which 


260 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


make it unnecessary for citizens to fight with one an- 
other. One city in our nation does not send an armed 
force to plunder another city, because law has super- 
seded force as a working plan between them. They are 
at peace with one another because they have found a 
Christian method of getting along together, and have 
dropped the old-time, pagan method which compelled 
cities to maintain standing armies and to wall themselves 
in to protect their citizens from robbery and plunder. 
We are moving toward a time when the relations of 
nations to one another will be regulated in the same 
way, not by war, but by law. 

Arbitration and International Conferences as Chris- 
tian Methods of Settling Disputes Between Nations. 
Where nations have met one another frankly in confer- 
ence on matters of dispute, war has nearly always been 
avoided. If the nations had taken a little time to talk 
matters over, the World War might have been averted. 
It is when nations become hasty that war follows. The 
conference method of settling international disputes is 
a Christian method. It gives each party to the contro- 
versy an opportunity to be heard. It allows the anger 
of nations to settle so that their better judgment may 
assert itself. 

Arbitration is also a Christian method of settling dis- 
putes between nations. It consists in calling in the rep- 
resentatives of other nations and committing the decision 
to them. It nearly always happens that when both sides 
are heard by fair and disinterested judges, a solution 
which is just to all is soon reached. How much more 
Christian and how much more sensible this is than to 
rush to arms in order to kill, to burn, and to destroy! 

The Federation of the World and the Brotherhood of 
Man. Tennyson spoke of a time when 


The war-drum throbs no longer, and the battle-flags are furl’d, 
In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world. 


Thus we see that not only the prophets but also the 
poets have dreamed of a warless world. The Christian 
Church has a great opportunity to help humanity toward 
this sublime goal. Tne Christian religion can supply the 
ideals of service and the ideals of righteousness without 





KENGDOMeLASK Ss HORVYOUNG. DISCEPIES 261 


which the dream can never come true. Here is a King- 
dom task of such immeasurable importance that we can- 
not fully grasp its meaning. It is a task for young dis- 
ciples. Their hearts and minds are open to the thoughts 
and ideals necessary to put the task through. People 
who have lived to be past middle life and who have 
never been thrilled by the ideal of a warless world will 
in all probability never do much to bring it about. A 
Guurchijoticer, whois really “avery excellent man in 
many ways recently told the author of this book that 
this talk about getting rid of war was all foolishness. 
To him such ideas are visionary and wholly impractical. 

“Less of Armament and None of War.” Not long 
before his death, President Harding expressed the wish 
that during the coming years our nation might have 
“less of armament and none of war.” ‘This would be a 
good motto for our country. We ought to work for 
international disarmament. Preparation for war makes 
war almost inevitable. Our nation has taken the lead in 
reducing the navies of the world, and the good work 
should go on until the heavy burden of enormous naval 
armaments is lifted from the shoulders of suffering 
humanity. 


THE PEACEMAKER OF CALABAR 


One day a message reached Mary Slessor in her Afri- 
can village home, stating that in a neighboring village 
all the men were making ready for war. Their chief 
had been wounded by a young man from a village some 
distance away, and all the warriors were getting ready 
to avenge the injury to their leader. When Mary Slessor 
heard of it she knew the danger. She knew that these 
wars between the native villages were terrible affairs. 
She said to her native helpers, “I must go and stop it.” 
They pleaded with her, telling her that she would cer- 
tainly be killed if she undertook to interfere in the mat- 
ter. Mary Slessor’s answer was, “I must go.” 

So she started out, with two companions, through the 
dense forests. It was night and they carried a little lan- 
tern in order to see the dim trail among the trees. They 
reached the village of a powerful chief and he tried to 
persuade Mary Slessor to turn back. He refused to allow 


262 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


any of his people to accompany the missionary. At last 
they reached the village of the chief who had been 
wounded. Suddenly they were surrounded by a band 
of armed warriors, horrible to see with their spears and 
knives and wearing the decorations which they had put 
on for battle. 

“What have you come for?” demanded the leader of 
the warriors. “I have heard that you are going to war,” 
said Mary Slessor, “and I have come to ask you not to 
fight.” When the black warriors learned that it was the 
missionary woman whom they called “The Great White 
Mother,” who had healed many of their own people by 
her skill in medicine, they said that they would not harm 
her. ‘They declared, however, that they were determined 
to fight, no matter what she might say against it. 

As day began to dawn, terrific yells and the roll of 
war drums broke the silence of the forest. Hastening 
to the scene of battle, Mary Slessor found the warriors 
of the two villages drawn up facing one another, with 
barely a hundred yards between the two lines. The 
battle was about to begin. Crossing over the “No Man’s 
Land” between the two bands of warriors, Mary Slessor 
approached the solid, black wall of the enemy. They 
awaited her approach with an ominous silence. 

As she approached the warriors, she told them who 
she was and why she had come. In a little while the 
chief of the village came forward to mect her. He had 
been cured of a desperate illness by the missicnary’s 
medicine and nursing, and he now made his benefactress 
welcome. Calling for a chair Mary Slessor sat down 
there between the two armies and called to her repre- 
sentatives from both of the warrior parties. She talked 
matters over with them. It was learned that the young 
man who had wounded the chief was not a worthy citi- 
zen of his own village. His fellow citizens were quite 
willing that he should be punished for his crime, but they 
were determined to defend their village against attack 
and pillage. By arguing and appealing Mary Slessor 
finally persuaded the people of the wounded chief to 
accept a fine as satisfaction for the injury their leader 
had received. 

Some drunken warriors, however, were not satisfied 


KINGDOM. TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 263 


with such a settlement, and there was great danger that 
the fight would take place in spite of the peace treaty 
which had been fixed up by the missionary. Seeing a 
mob of black men about some boxes containing bottles 
of gin, and knowing from their conduct that these war- 
riors were drinking themselves into a drunken frenzy, 
Miss Slessor came boldly into the midst of the group 
and threw her robe over the supply of liquor. Accord- 
ing to the law of the black folk’s any person’s garment 
spread on any object gives that object the protection of 
the persons’ body. For them to take away Miss Slessor’s 
robe was to them the same as laying hold upon Miss 
Slessor herself, and even in their drunken fury they had 
too much respect for the missionary to do that. So she 
kept the liquor from them until they became more quiet. 

Before she left the scene of the narrowly averted con- 
flict, Miss Slessor had led the warriors of each village to 
promise her that they would not fight one another. Then 
she told them the story of the Prince of Peace, who had 
come to earth to lead all men to do right and to love one 
another. She told them that she was about to go to her 
home across the ocean and they promised to live in peace 
until she should return. The villagers kept their prom- 
ise, for when Miss Slessor returned after many months, 
they greeted her with the words, “It is peace.” 


Tur LkEsson PRAYER 


Our Father in heaven, we ask thee to give us that spirit 
of kindness which will cause us to live peaceably with 
our fellow men. Help us to do something for the great 
cause of world peace. We ask thee to bless our nation 
and help us as a people to do our part in bringing the 
nations of the world to a state of brotherhood. ‘Take 
out of our lives any race prejudice or ill wiil which is 
keeping us from living worthily and usefully. We ask 
in the name of thy Son, our Saviour. Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIAL 


Jesus refuses the protection of the sword. Matt. 26: 


feo oeonnalS l-b1, 


264 -KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 
EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 


PEACEMAKERS AND TROUBLE MAKERS 
Matt, 5:9 Prow 10s A213 10s on Soe eee 


Jesus numbered peacemakers among the blessed people 
of the earth. He said that they are entitled to the name, 
“sons of God.” If any person is worthy to be called a 
son of God, he must be a person of noble character. 
Jesus evidently believed that it was a noble thing to allay 
strife and to set people at peace with one another. Some 
people are always doing this sort of thing. Unfriendly 
gossip ceases when they are around. ‘They have a way 
of making people feel friendly toward one another. 

There are other people who are not peacemakers but 
trouble makers. They go about stirring up strife. Their 
presence in a company seems to make people unfriendly 
toward one another. The book of Proverbs has a good 
deal to say about such trouble makers and the sources 
from which strife springs. 

Strife Springs Out of Careless and Unkindly Speech. 
Prov. 1O:11,.12) Ay great deal of ‘the stritetstigredsipeas 
trouble makers comes from careless and unkind talk. 
The power of speech may be used either to make peace 
or to make dissension. 

Selfish Pride Is a Frequent Source of Enmity. Prov. 
13: 10. A person who. is selfishly proud is very apt to 
be touchy. He takes offense easily and is apt to be a 
trouble maker in whatever group he happens to be. 

Anger Is One of the Most Common Causes of Con- 
tention. Prov. 15:18. How often is the game spoiled 
or the outing made unpleasant because some member 
of the company gets angry about something! The quick- 
tempered person must learn self-control or he will soon 
become known as a trouble maker and his presence will 
not be desired in any undertaking of importance. 

Deceitfulness Causes Many People to Become 
Trouble Makers. Prov. 16:28. A person who is, as 
young people sometimes say, “two-faced,” is a nuisance 
and a trouble maker in any company. Whispering 
gossips do more to mar the good times of boys, and 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 265 


more especially of girls, than almost any other class of 
people. 

Selfish Greed Makes a Person a Trouble Maker. Prov. 
28:25. The author of the book of Proverbs speaks of a 
“oreedy spirit.” Some folks are greedy to have their 
own way; some are greedy to be leaders in everything 
tiateice being carried)on, Both types of greed: cause! a 
person to be a trouble maker and a marplot. 


SoME Facts To BE DiIscussED IN THE MEETING 


Peacemaking and trouble-making are more matters 
of habit than matters of disposition. We can choose 
which we will be, peacemakers, or trouble makers. 

Peacemakers are a blessing to any organization. Even 
the Church could hardly get along without them. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Tell the story of King Amaziah and his foolish 
fondness for war. 
Why is war called “the great destroyer”? 
Tell something of the cost of war. 
What would another war be like? 
What are the causes of war? 
Why is Jesus called the “Prince of Peace’? 
What is meant by arbitration? 
How may wars be avoided? 


COOP) Or IS 


BIBLE VERSES 


Demo te lsano2:10,17 sNahium 1:l5s) Matt. 12:18-21: 
Meee oO lel esse oy 20 3 allel itn 2124-20". Heb. 
dee |aimes 3¢107°4 31, 


‘Topics 


1. Abraham as a lover of peace. Gen. 13:1-13 

Z. Isaac walks in the footsteps of his father Abraham. 
Gen. 26:12-22. 

3. Jesus as a peacemaker. Matt. 20:20-28. 

4. Habits which cause a person to become a trouble 
maker, 


266° KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


5. Why peacemakers are called “sons of God.” 
6. Habits of lite which will help a person to become 
a peacemaker. 
PROJECTS 


Appoint a Committee for the Promotion of Inter- 
national Peace. Have this committee find out about the 
various organizations seeking to promote world peace 
and report such information to the class. Undertake the 
raising of funds for the support of some such organiza- 
tion. Dramatize the story of Mary Slessor and the 
African warriors. Hold a “Good-Will Party,” to which 
boys and girls of foreign parentage are especially invited. 


CHAPTER XIX 


THE ATTAINMENT OF WORLD-WIDE 
TEMPERANCE 


WEEK DAY SESSION 
PROHIBITION IN LHR SUNITED STALES 
[aici st 20 16-212 tsao 318-23 


In the far-off years during which the Bible was writ- 
ten, the drinking of intoxicating liquor was so common 
that few people thought of it as being wrong, but the 
inspired writers of the Bible saw the enormous evil of 
drunkenness and they spoke boldly against it. In this 
chapter we are to learn about the battle which the forces 
of righteousness are waging to banish this ancient evil 
irom hemace ot therearth. 

Ben-hadad, king of Syria, once made an attack upon the 
land of Israel. He had a stronger army than Israel could 
muster, and so he was able to sweep away the resisting 
troops and to bring his armies up to the very walls of 
Samaria. The armies of Israel within the walls of 
Samaria were threatened with starvation, and the Syrians 
believed that all they had to do was to wait until hunger 
compelled the Israelites to surrender. In the meantime 
they were celebrating their successes with feasting and 
dancing. The account says that Ben-hadad “was drink- 
ing himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the 
thirty and two kings that helped him.” 

In the midst of their drunken revelings the Syrians saw 
a small body of Israelites coming out from Samaria. The 
beclouded mind of the Syrian king was incapable of 
appreciating the situation. He had no thought of danger, 
but only of the victory which he believed to be assured. 
When he was told that men were coming out from 
Samaria, he said in his drunken pride, “Whether they are 
come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they 
are come out for war, take them alive.” 

267 


268 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


The drunken soldiers of Syria could not withstand the 
attack of the sober and valiant soldiers of Israel and there 
was a great slaughter of the Syrians. Ben-hadad himself 
barely escaped. A fleeing horseman of the Syrian army 
lifted the drunken king on his own beast and so carried 
him out of the battle and to a place of safety. This is 
not the only instance of history where a half-drunken 
army has gone down before a smaller but sober army. 

Benefits of the Eighteenth Amendment. By the Fight- 
eenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States the manufacture and sale of intoxicating bever- 
ages is prohibited in our country. Many people believe 
that this amendment has brought greater benefits 
to our country than have been brought by any other law 
which has ever been enacted by our legislative bodies. 
It has certainly greatly reduced drunkenness in America. 
Some who have studied the matter with much care be- 
lieve that the drinking of intoxicants has been reduced 
ninety per cent by the Eighteenth Amendment. It has 
enabled many workingmen to save their money, and 
bank deposits have greatly increased. All honorable 
forms of business have been helped, because the men who 
formerly spent their wages for liquor are now buying 
more and better food for their families and better cloth- 
ing for themselves and those dependent upon them. 
School attendance has been increased, because boys and 
girls who were compelled to work in order to help sup- 
port families in which the father was a drunkard have 
been relieved of this burden, the father having regained 
his manhood under the protection accorded by the pro- 
hibitory law. | 

False Statements of the Sellers of Dissipation. ‘The 
people who in former years were able to enrich them- 
selves by selling dissipation to their fellow men are 
making a determined fight to break down the prohibi- 
tory law. They have millions of dollars with which to 
carry On a campaign of misinformation. Unfortunately 
they are in control of many of the daily papefs in our 
great cities, and thus they are able to influence great 
numbers of people who do little real thinking themselves, 
but take their opinions ready-made from the daily press. 

The sellers of dissipation maintain that more liquor 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 269 


is consumed now than in the days when its sale was 
legal. This statement is so absurd that it is really sur- 
prising to find that some people believe it. An hour 
on a street of any large city in the land ought to show a 
person of normal intelligence the absurdity of the asser- 
tion. Before the Eighteenth Amendment went into 
effect, you could see in any city where there were licensed 
saloons dozens of trucks loaded with beer and whisky 
constantly moving about. There were saloons on nearly 
all prominent corners and you could smell them from | 
afar. Trains loaded with beer moved from one city to 
another. Is it reasonable to believe that a few disrepu- 
table “bootleggers,” slipping around in the alleys or hold- 
ing forth in some low-down den, could carry on such a 
volume of business as was formerly carried on openly? 

The sellers of dissipation maintain that the Fighteenth 
Amendment has increased crime. They argue that people 
break the prohibitory law and thus lose respect for all 
law. That the sellers of dissipation should all at once 
become so deeply concerned about the morality of the 
nation seems a little strange. What have they ever done 
to make our country clean, upright, and law-abiding? 
They have been persistent lawbreakers from the begin- 
nings of history. The Fighteenth Amendment has not 
made them criminals, although it may have shown them 
tOmpomouci wVV hen there: were five hundred licensed 
saloons in San Francisco, there were more than two thou- 
sand places where liquor was sold illegally. Now there 
are no licensed saloons in San Francisco, and the num- 
ber of places where liquor is sold illegally is very greatly 
reduced from what it was under the license system. And 
yet the liquor sellers are pointing to the city by the 
Golden Gate as a horrible example of the lawlessness 
which has resulted from the attempt to prohibit the 
liquor traffic. A child can see through such false claims 
as are put forth by the liquor people. 

The sellers of dissipation maintain that the Eighteenth 
Amendment was passed hastily and that the majority of 
people were not in favor of it. As a matter of fact the 
temperance question has been before the American 
people for a hundred years. No question has ever been 
so thoroughly discussed. The Eighteenth Amendment 


270 KINGDOM TASKS: FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


could not have been proposed without a two-thirds vote 
of both houses of Congress, and it could not have been 
adopted unless three fourths of the states ratified it. It 
was ratified by practically all the states. 

A Prophet’s Words Concerning Sellers of Dissipation. 
Isa. 5:18-23. The Prophet Isaiah pronounced woes 
against those of his day who drew “iniquity with cords 
of falsehood, and sim as it were with a cart rope.” He 
evidently knew people who were trying to have their 
own way, even though they had to throw truth to the 
winds and give themselves over to sins of many varie- 
ties. If they were tied at all to the moral law, they were 
tied by a rope so long that they could wander far away 
from it. He said that people of this sort even sneer 
at the idea of a just God who sees their deeds and 
will hold them to account. Isaiah had probably warned 
these evil people, telling them that Jehovah, the Holy 
One of Israel, would send judgment upon them, but they 
sneeringly replied, “Let him make speed, let him hasten 
his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the 
Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may 
know it!” 

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; 
that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that 
put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!’ Whom did 
the prophet have in mind when he spoke these words? 
He had in mind sellers of dissipation. Then he went on 
to say, “Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, 
and men of strength to mingle strong drink.” A mixer 
of liquors is a saloon keeper, is he not? Those who say 
that prohibition is a bad thing and liquor-drinking a good 
thing are exactly the kind of people the prophet had in 
mind, for they “call evil good, and good evil.” 

A Crisis in the Age-Long Battle with Rum. The vic- 
tory of prohibition in America has brought a saloonless 
world within view. If temperance can be maintained in 
America, it will probably mean that one by one the other 
nations of the world will fall into line. But if prohibition 
is defeated in America, it will set the temperance cause 
back for hundreds of years. The friends of temperance 
are therefore engaged in a conflict of vast importance. 
It has to do not only with the welfare of our own country 


KINGDOM: TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 271 


but with the welfare of the whole earth. For the sake 
of a sober and righteous humanity the cause of temper- 
ance must not be allowed to suffer loss. Sellers of dis- 
sipation to whom the laws of God and the laws of men 
mean nothing must be restrained. 

The Liquor Traffic Must Be Destroyed Everywhere. 
The liquor traffic cannot be completely destroyed in 
any nation until it is destroyed in all nations. Liquor- 
producing nations will find a way to ship their bever- 
ages across our borders and into our ports so long as 
they make it and sell it and drink it within their own 
territory. ‘This supply of criminally imported liquor, 
however, can be kept down to a comparatively low 
amount by the strict enforcement of our laws. It will 
be totally eliminated when all the nations of the earth 
outlaw its manufacture, transportation, and sale. ‘That 
we are making rapid progress toward world-wide pro- 
hibition will become apparent as we study the next 
lesson. 


Tue Sprrit WuHicH THE Liquor TRAFFIC DEVELOPS 
IN A Man or A NATION 


Iceland is a picturesque island lying in the North At- 
lantic between the British Isles and Greenland. The Ice- 
landers are descendants of the hardy Vikings who 
roamed the northern seas a thousand years ago. They 
are a noble race, but like the people of other races they 
degenerate rapidly under the influence of liquor-drinking. 
The Icelanders early saw the need for prohibiting the 
liquor traffic in their island. They found the traffic 
Stiomely- entrenched, ‘but, little by little, they gained 
ground, until they were able to pass a law prohibiting 
the manufacture, sale, and importation of all intoxicating 
drinks. 

The good effects of the law were immediate and 
marked. Crimes decreased, the working people became 
prosperous, industry thrived as never before. The Ice- 
landers were thoroughly satisfied with their experiment. 
They had no thought of again admitting strong drink 
into their country. 

Now it happens that Iceland’s chief industry is fish- 


272 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


ing. The Icelanders sell their fish to countries in the 
South of Europe, especially to Spain. In former years 
Spain had sold considerable wine in Iceland, but when 
Iceland “went dry” this market ceased to exist. There- 
upon Spain sent a demand to Iceland threatening not to 
buy any more fish unless Iceland shouid again open her 
ports to Spanish wine. Since Spain was the largest buyer 
of Iceland fish, the matter was serious. It meant hunger 
and suffering for thousands of the Iceland fishermen and 
their families. 

Many of the Icelanders were in favor of resisting the 
demands of Spain, no matter what might come of it. But 
there were some of the Icelanders who had never been in 
favor of prohibition, many of these opposers of the pro- 
hibitory law having been engaged in the liquor business in 
the years preceding the passing of the law. These liquor 
dealers and their friends, together with a good many 
fishermen who were frightened at the threat of Spain, 
were strong enough to secure the repeal of the Iceland 
prohibition law in so far as it was concerned with wine. 
Thus the blighting traffic has been forced upon a people 
who by popular vote had banished it from their midst. 
Such is the spirit of the liquor dealer. He does not take 
into account the welfare of his fellow men and he heeds 
not the cry of little children. He thinks only of the profits 
which will enrich himself. Liquor has been a curse to 
Spain. Once a great nation, she has fallen to a very low 
place among the countries of the world. Wine and 
alcohol have been among the chief causes of her decline, . 
yet she neither seeks to free herself from the evil nor 
hesitates to force that evil upon her neighbors. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. Effects of drunkenness on a nation. Isa. 28:1-6. 

2. Ministers of religion who defile themselves with 
wine. Isa. 28:7, 8. 

3. Luxury and drunkenness denounced by Amos. 
Amos 6:1-11. 

4. What an Old Testament writer thought about wine 
drinking. Prov. 23 :29-35, 

5. The Rechabites. Jeremiah, ch. 35. 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 273 
SUNDAY SESSION 


\ 


TEMPERANCE PROGRESS IN OTHER LANDS 
Proverw 23 129535 


The wise man who wrote our Scripture lesson had some 
well-established ideas about wine-drinking. He knew 
that woe and contentions, complaining, and wounds 
without cause are the inheritance of the drunkard. He 
compared wine to a serpent. ‘he remorse of the drunk- 
ard, he said, is like the sting of an adder. The climax 
of the drunkard’s degradation is seen in that weakening 
of his will power which causes him to say, “I will seek 
it yet again,” even when he is just recovering from the 
effects of his drunken revels. One of the great tasks 
before the young Christians of our day is that of ridding 
the world of the drink evil. In the preceding lesson we 
saw that we have a task to maintain in perfecting prohibi- 
tion in our own country. We have also the task of help- 
ing other nations to rid themselves of the same evil. This 
duty which we owe to neighboring nations will appear 
in the present lesson. We will glance briefly at the 
present situation in some of the leading nations of the 
world. 

Austria Moving Toward Prohibition. The downfall 
of the Austrian monarchy and the organization of a re- 
publican form of government in that country has given 
a great impetus to prohibition. The laboring people of 
Austria are turning toward temperance. Dr. Michael 
Hainisch, President of the Austrian Republic, is an 
earnest advocate of prohibition, and many of the other 
officers who stand high in the government are supporting 
the president in his efforts to make Austria a land of 
temperance. A sum of fifty million kronen has been set 
apart by the government of Austria for the purpose of 
securing a prohibitory law. 

Belgium Taking the First Steps Toward Temperance. 
The Belgians have for a good many years been great 
consumers of alcoholic beverages. During the World 
War, however, the leaders of that country saw that 
strong drink was like a millstone about the neck of the 


274. KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


nation. A determined effort was made to prohibit the 
manufacture and sale of alcoholic drinks during the war. 
It was plain that drink endangered the existence of the 
Belgian state. The people were in desperate straits for 
food. The liquor dealers and the manufacturers of rum 
were strong enough to prevent total prohibition, though 
the traffic was very much restricted. Since the close of 
the World War, Belgium has been taking the first steps 
toward temperance. Liquor can no longer he sold and 
consumed in public places in Belgium. A local-option 
measure is before the legislators of the nation and seems 
likely to become a law. 

Bulgaria Adopts Local Option. ‘Temperance sentiment 
has been developing rapidly in Bulgaria since the World 
War. A local option law was passed in 1920, and several 
towns have already voted to banish the sale of liquor. 
In the universities and colleges of Bulgaria the students 
have formed a Student Temperance Union. ‘This organi- 
zation now has over three thousand members. 

Temperance Workers Active in Czechoslovakia. Like 
the other new European republics, Czechoslovakia has 
grappled with the alcohol problem. ‘The President of 
the republic, Dr. T. G. Masaryk, is an able man and an 
ardent friend of temperance. The sale of intoxicants to 
young people under eighteen years of age has been pro- 
hibited. A thoroughgoing prohibitory law which would 
stop the manufacture and sale of all alcoholic beverage 
has been placed before the legislature for its considera- 
tion. 

Finland Adopts Prohibition. In 1864 there were twenty 
thousand stills in Finland. ‘lhe leaders of the nation 
gradually awoke to the fact that liquor was the greatest 
foe of the Finns. As soon as the Finns gained their inde- 
pendence from Russia, they passed a law prohibiting the 
manufacture and sale of strong drink. In 1921 an attempt 
was made to modify this law so as to admit wine and 
beer, but the attempt was defeated by a more than three- 
to-one vote. 

France Begins to See the Light. France is a great 
wine-producing country. The consumption of all kinds 
of liquor has been very large among the French people. 
The drink habit has been slowly destroying the nation, 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 275 


for the population has been growing less and it seems 
certain that liquor-drinking is the chief cause of this 
decline. The French have been much addicted to that 
vilest of all intoxicants which is called “absinthe.” The 
sale of absinthe was stopped during the World War and 
it has not been allowed on the market since the close of 
that conflict. Here and there French people of vision 
are raising their voices against the liquor evil and the 
time will come when the battle for a sober nation will be 
joined. 

The German Republic Faces the Temperance Ques- 
tion. Germany has been blighted by beer for many gen- 
erations. Now that a republic has been formed, the 
German people are beginning to look at the beer ques- 
tion ina new way. The trade unions are taking a leading 
part in the attempt to secure legislation banishing spirit- 
uous liquors and regulating the sale of beer by drastic 
legislative enactments. 

Italy Learning How to Use Her Grapes for Food In- 
stead of for Poison. ‘lemperance sentiment has appeared 
in wine-drinking Italy, and it is growing. Professor 
Monti, of Turin, has invented processes whereby the 
products of the grape may be made into wholesome food. 
Picmiurceoi the etrape ispreduced to awthick sirup, in 
which state it can be preserved indefinitely. This sirup, 
mixed with certain coarse brans heretofore counted unfit 
for human food, is made into an excellent and nutritious 
bread. It has been shown that prohibition in Italy need 
not mean the ruin of the grape-growing industry. 

Russia Still Prohibits. At the beginning of the World 
War the manufacture and sale of intoxicants was pro- 
hibited in Russia. When the Russian Empire was over- 
thrown by the Russian Revolution, this prohibitory de- 
cree was continued under the Kerensky Government. 
Since the establishment of the Russian Soviet Govern- 
ment, conditions have been so confused in that country, 
and reports so meager and contradictory, that many have 
believed that the prohibitory law was no longer in force in 
Russia. It now appears that this belief is erroneous. Rep- 
resentatives of the Soviet Government who visited 
London vehemently asserted that prohibition was still 
in force in their country. That these representatives 


276 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


spoke the truth seems evident from the fact that in every 
trade treaty which they negotiated with Great Britain 
and other nations they insisted that there should be a 
clause permitting Russia to keep all alcoholic liquors from 
crossing her borders. 

Sweden Nearing a Victory. The people of Sweden 
have recently voted on prohibition. Although the law 
prohibiting the manufacture and sale of liquor was lost 
by a very small majority, it carried everywhere outside 
of Stockholm, the capital. It will be remembered that 
this was the situation in our own country for a number 
of years. The great cities of our nation delayed the adop- 
tion of prohibition for a time, but the liquor forces 
gradually lost ground even in the cities. It seems cer- 
tain that at the next election the prohibition forces of 
Sweden will win a permanent victory. 

Norway Battles for the Right to Be Sober. The pro- 
hibition forces of Norway won a great victory in 1921. 
Prohibition was adopted by a very large majority. Like 
the Icelanders, the Norwegians soon found that their pro- 
hibitory law was not weli-pleasing to certain nations in 
the south of Europe. France insisted that under trade 
treaties she had a right to sell wine in Norway. ‘The 
Norwegian fishermen were threatened with a complete 
closing of the French markets for their products unless 
French wines should be admitted to Norway. The Gov- 
ernment of Norway yielded to the extent of admitting 
half a million liters of French wine. ‘They have stored 
away this wine to await another election so that the 
Norwegian people may say what is to be done with it. 

In a great assembly of Norwegian fishermen resolu- 
tions were passed asking the Norwegian Government to 
maintain its rights of self-determination in the matter 
of alcoholic beverages. ‘They declared that, if the wine- 
making countries of the south did not wish to admit 
Norwegian fish unless wines were received in exchange, 
it was their opinion that no trade agreements be entered 
into with these countries. 

Canada on the Way to Total Prohibition. In Canada, 
seven of the nine provinces are dry. Newfoundland, 
which does not belong to the Dominion of Canada, is 
also under prohibition. It seems probable that the whole 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 277 


of North America down to the Mexican border will soon 
be under prohibition. 

Great Britain Falling Into Line. Great reforms do not 
usually move with marked rapidity, especially in coun- 
tries naturally conservative like Great Britain. Never- 
theless, prohibition is making steady progress in the 
British Isles. ‘The saloons have been compelled to close 
on Sunday in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. In England 
the number of hours during which the saloons may be 
open has been reduced. In 1920 half a million votes were 
cast against alcohol in Scotland, and the saloons have 
been banished from forty towns and parishes in that 
country. 

Other Nations Which Are Moving Toward Prohibition. 
Many of the native states of India have already adopted 
laws prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicating 
beverages. Japan has prohibited the sale of liquor to 
minors. Local option is gaining ground in Holland. 
Switzerland has passed a law making it illegal to sell 
liquor to immature persons. ‘Towns of Holland have 
been given the right to stop the sale of hquor which con- 
tains as much as two and one half per cent of alcohol. 
Certain mining towns in Chile are under prohibition. 


WHAT THE WorLD SITUATION TEACHES 


We have glanced at the temperance situation in a num- 
ber of different countries and are able to draw a few 
general conclusions. First of all, it is evident that the 
liquor evil is being brought to light. The World War 
did much to bring this about. Nations saw in that great 
conflict that liquor-drinking was an enemy to national 
strength, that it consumed grains needed for food and 
rendered young men unfit for military service. In many 
Kuropean countries the laboring people are finding out 
that alcohol is their worst foe; hence we find labor 
unions taking up the war against strong drink. 

It has been shown that prohibition sentiment grows 
with the development of free government. ‘he growth of 
temperance sentiment has been rapid in the new republics 
of Europe. It has likewise been shown that the women 
of the world are against alcohol. In countries where 


278 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


women have been given the right to vote, temperance 
sentiment has showed marked gains as socn as the women 
began to cast their ballots. In several countries there 
have been temperance societies created among students, 
indicating that education and temperance advance to- 
gether. 


Tus Lesson PRAYER 


Our Father in heaven, we thank thee for the progress 
which is being made toward a righteous and sober world. 
Help us to do our part in the great task of banishing the 
liquor evil from the earth. We ask thee to bless our 
nation and to help us so to enforce our laws that we may 
show other nations the results of temperance. Forgive 
us for our failure to do thy will. We ask these blessings 
in the name of Jesus, thy Son. Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIAL 


“Why Abstain?” 

“Prohibition in the United States.” 

“The Trend of the World.” 

May be obtained free from the Department of Moral 
Welfare, Columbia Bank Building, Pittsburgh, Pa. 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 


THE UNSEEN FORCES BEHIND A RIGHTEOUS 
CAUSE 


II Kings 6:8-17 


A great student of history has said that there is back 
of human events a Force which is not ourselves and which 
makes for righteousness. Most of the world’s great re- 
formers have felt the truth of this statement. They have 
felt that they were in league with a Power which was 
striving toward the same goals as those which they were 
striving to attain. Those who have fought for righteous 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES = 279 


causes have felt that they were not fighting alone. So we 
may be sure that the task of banishing the liquor evil is 
a task in which God is enlisted. 

In our Scripture lesson the servant of Elisha was 
greatly alarmed when he learned that he and his master 
were surrounded by an army of Syrians. In answer to 
Elisha’s prayer the servant’s eyes were opened and he 
saw a vision of horses and chariots of fire covering all 
the surrounding hills. He thus came to understand what 
Elisha meant when he said, “Fear not; for they that are 
with us are more than they that are with them.” 

Our confidence in the establishment of world-wide 
prohibition rests on this basis. We believe it will come 
because the liquor industry is wrong and ought to be 
banished from the world. We believe it will come be- 
cause God is righteous and on the side of those who 
would free the world from the liquor evil. When the 
temperance crusade began in America, the cause looked 
hopeless. But the little band of idealists who first at- 
tacked the enormous and powerful liquor interests have 
gradually gained ground, because the forces allied with 
them, the unseen spiritual forces, were greater than any 
force the liquor interests could muster. 


SomkE Facts To Br. DiscussED IN THE MEETING 


A few years ago only two states, Kansas and Maine, 
were probihition states. All the other states of the Union 
are now under prohibition because of the invincible power 
which a righteous cause develops under the providence 
of God. 

A hundred years ago the prospects for temperance in 
the United States were as dark as in the most unprogres- 
sive nations of Europe or South America to-day. 

If the prohibition movement continues to grow at the 
rate it has maintained during the past few years many 
now living will see a saloonless world before they die. 

The liquor interests can hold their own only in a coun- 
try where selfishness and ignorance abound. Hence the 
liquor interests must fade away before the coming King- 
Hom of God where unselfish service will be the rule of 
ife. 


280 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Name some benefits brought about by prohibition 
in our country. 

2. What arguments are made against prohibition by 
the liquor interests? 

3. Why is it a matter of world-wide importance to 
have prohibition strictly enforced in the United States? 

4. Tell of the progress of temperance in Austria. 

5. What countries of Europe have passed prohibitory 
laws? 

6. Tell of the fight for temperance in Norway. 

7. What parts of North America are now prohibition 
territory? 

BIBLE VERSES 


Eph? 5218 ;"Proyv! 23:21 * joel 15 -l Cors 6:98 0 eee 
12°:45):46; 1 Cor. 11:20221sRoem. 13136) D Cor ga ee 
Loe LO Vsaneeece. 

Topics 


1. The stern punishment meted out to drunkards in 
Old Testament times. Deut. 21 :18-21. 

2. How confidence in an unseen power helped Moses 
to.beavoreat leader sso. ule: 

3. Foolish Israelites who thought that the Ark would 
insure them the help of God. I Sam. 4:1-11. 

4. Some evidences that God helps those who fight 
against the liquor evil. 

ecuurne spirit of the liquor traffic. (See accounts con- 
cerning Spain and Iceland, Norway and France.) 

6. Some false arguments against prohibition and how 
to answer them. . 

PRoyECTS 


Find out about the Anti-Saloon League and consider 
how the class can raise funds and help to support it. 
Gather temperance literature to be sent to foreign-mission 
stations. Appoint a committee to correspond with the 
Division of Moral Welfare of the Board of Christian 
Education of the Presbyterian Church in the U. §. A. 
and to report the same to the class. Have a “Temperance 
Poster Contest,” members of the class presenting original 
posters which express some truth about alcohol. 


CHABT ER UXX 


Joe REUNTIANG*OB] THE HOLLOWERS OF 
(CARNSIS aE 


WEEK DAY SESSION 


Deb R Avi RAO he jo Usui CHew EE CAN VHEDLP 
TO ANSWER 


John 17:11-23 


As Jesus was in the upper room with his disciples on 
Picueiioite Deroteemie ms was | cruciied,, Hew talked swith 
them and prayed: with them. It was at this time that he 
uttered the wonderful prayer recorded in the seventeenth 
chapter of John. Jesus knew that he was soon to leave 
his disciples and that the great task of establishing God’s 
Kingdom in the world must be carried on by them with- 
out his visible presence. In one of his conversations 
with the Pharisees, Jesus had said that a house divided 
against itself could not stand and that a kingdom di- 
vided against itself must come to desolation. It is evi- 
dent from this prayer that Jesus was anxious concerning 
the unity of his followers. Let us notice a few lessons 
which this great prayer teaches concerning the need for 
unity among the followers of Jesus. 

Jesus Prayed that His Followers Might Be One. Jolin 
17:11, 12. When dissentions and threatened divisions 
arose among the disciples, Jesus was able to settle their 
disputes and to heal the threatened divisions by his words 
and by his example of unselfish devotion to the good of 
others. It will be remembered that at one time James 
and John tried to get Jesus to promise them the chief 
offices in the expected Kingdom. This underhanded at- 
tempt aroused the anger of the other disciples and there 
was bitter contention between them and the sons of 
Zebedee. Jesus by a few kindly words showed them 
that true greatness does not consist in holding high office 
but in being of great service to humanity. Had it not 

281 


282 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


been for the presence of Jesus and his tact as a leader, 
this dissension might have led to permanent divisions 
among the disciples. 

At another time Jesus heard his disciples disputing as 
to which of them should be the greatest in the Kingdom, 
and in order to teach them a lesson he took a towel and 
girded himself. Then he took water and washed his dis- 
ciples’ teét, - These were! the! events* wich) Jesusmpron. 
ably had in mind when he said in his prayer, “While J 
was with them, I kept them in thy name.” He knew 
that if his disciples should fall to disputing and quarrel- 
ing again, they might become divided into opposing fac- 
tions. He knew that the success of his cause depended 
upon the avoiding of such divisions. Therefore Jesus 
prayed earnestly that his disciples might be one in spirit 
and in labor. 

Jesus Prayed that His Followers Might Always Be 
United. John 17:20, 21. It was not only concen 
his few disciples who were with him in that upper room 
that Jesus prayed; his anxious vision passed down 
through the years and centuries which were ahead. He 
knew that unity was a matter of immeasurable impor- 
tance to the little band who must go out and face an un- 
friendly world together, but he knew also that unity 
would be equally important in all the centuries to come. 
Therefore he prayed not only for his followers in the 
upper room, but also for all who should believe on him 
through their word. His prayer therefore includes every 
Christian believer of to-day and for all time to come. 
The heart of Jesus evidently yearned for this unity of be- 
lievers with a great and earnest longing. He saw that 
unity meant the conquest of the world for the Kingdom 
of God, and that disunion meant delay, loss, and defeat. 

Jesus Prayed for a Real Unity of Believers. The unity 
for which Jesus prayed was a genuine unity. He prayed 
that his followers might be one as he and the Father 
are one. Now we believe that Jesus and God are one 
in a very profound sense. The Father, the Son, and the 
Holy Spirit are one God. So we cannot satisfy the 
prayer of Jesus by being united by some sort of outside 
organization while our hearts are at enmity with our 


fellow Christians within that organization. We cannot 
( 


KENGDOMETASKSFFOR YOUNG DISCIPLES — 283 


satisfy it by saying that Christians are united in a way 
well-pleasing to our Master when they are divided into 
hundreds of different denominations which have little to 
do with one another. Jesus and God are one in spirit, 
one in purpose, one in their efforts. The Church must 
become united as Jesus and God are united if the prayer 
of Jesus is to be answered. 

Why Jesus Prayed that His Followers Might Be 
United. It was not for his own sake that Jesus was so 
anxious to have his followers united. He knew that a 
divided Church could never win the world to the Chris- 
tian religion. Not many people will be led to believe in 
Jesus if the followers of Jesus are enemies to one another. 
This is what Jesus meant when he prayed that his fol- 
lowers might all be one in order “that the world may 
believe that thou didst send me.” The world will be saved 
only as it believes in Jesus and this saving faith is greatly 
hindered by divisions and dissensions among the fol- 
lowers of Jesus. 

A decade or so ago the Christian religion was making 
rapid progress in Japan, but Japanese travelers from 
Europe and America began to return to their native land 
and to tell their fellow countrymen that there were two 
hundred different kinds of Christians in America and 
nearly as many in Europe. They said that these different 
kinds of Christians were not very friendly in many cases 
and that they held very different opinions on many 
matters. They also said that thousands of children in 
America grew up and never became members of any 
Christian Church. These reports have made it hard 
for the missionaries to lead the Japanese to believe in 
Jesus. They sometimes refuse to hear about Jesus be- 
cause his followers are so much divided and seem to 
love one another so little. 

The Sin of Schism. From what has been said it will 
be evident that it is a great sin to divide the followers 
of Jesus. Such an act is directly opposed to the desires 
and contrary to the prayers of our Saviour. We call 
such a sin the sin of schism. Paul says that to divide 
the Church of Christ is like rending the body of Christ. 
During the past few centuries the sin of schism has been 
so common that to-day it is hardly recognized as a sin 


284. KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG: DISCIPEES 


at all. The Church has been torn asunder because of the 
most paltry trifles, by people who in other respects would 
shrink from committing grave transgressions. People 
have had slightly different ideas as to the meaning of cer- 
tain passages of Scripture and they have divided into 
opposing camps. They have differed as to the best way 
of carrying on the work of the Church and they have 
divided again. Some person has desired “to have the pre- 
eminence,” as did a certain opposer of the Apostle John, 
and he has split the Church, drawing away a faction after 
himself and creating another denomination. Thus the sin 
of schism has run rampant through the Protestant Church 
and the desires and prayers of Jesus have been forgotten. 

The Only Legitimate Grounds for Division. Paul 
usually began his work in a new field by going into the 
Jewish synagogue and preaching there. If the Jews of 
the synagogue rejected the gospel and would not accept 
Jesus as the Saviour and Messiah, Paul found some other 
place to do his preaching and he organized a Church dis- 
tinct from the synagogue. It would seem that Christians 
ought to follow the example of Paul. We are not guilty 
of the sin of schism if we withdraw from those who 
have rejected Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. 
Such an act does not rend the body of Christ. However, 
no such excuse can be offered for our sadly divided 
Protestantism. In the many different Protestant bodies 
in our country there is almost no difference of opinion 
as to the lordship of Jesus. The divisions have arisen 
from other causes than differences of opinion concerning 
the personality of Jesus and our relationships with him. 

The Effects of Disunion. .The effects of a divided 
Protestantism are manifest in thousands of cities, towns, 
and country districts throughout our nation. How could 
it be otherwise when two hundred different denomina- 
tions, most of them legitimately Protestant, are com- 
peting with one another for their existence in our land? 
We have nine different kinds of Presbyterians and sev- 
enteen different kinds of Methodists. It thus happens 
that denominations almost exactly alike in doctrine and 
eovernment, but quite unrelated in organization, exist 
side by side in the same community and bid for the sup- 
port of the same groups of people. 


LINGVOMETASKo HORMYOUNG DISCIPLES — 285 


Division has weakened the Protestant Church to such 
an extent that in many places its very existence is en- 
dangered. The writer once lived in a village of two 
hundred and fifty people in which there were four 
Protestant churches. One of these churches had thirty 
members, one had sixteen, one had six, and one had three. 
All but one of the four denominations had church build- 
ings, and all but one maintained regular preaching serv- 
ices. There was one well-equipped and well-taught pub- 
lic school in the village, but there were three small, poorly 
attended, and poorly taught Sunday schools. All the 
churches of the village were slowly dying, and the ma- 
jority of the people had little interest in religious matters. 
No pastor was giving more than a small amount of time 
to the field. Two pastors preached once every Sunday, 
one preached once or twice a month, and the other came 
about once in three months. Everything about the com- 
munity indicated that the forces which ought to be build- 
ing the Kingdom of God were not succeeding because 
they were divided, weak, and inefficient. 

The effects of a divided Protestantism are also mani- 
fest in the great cities of the nation. In many of these 
cities the Protestant Churches have a membership less 
ieee te Oe nes homane@atholic® Church. ein many 
others, however, the membership of the Protestant 
Churches exceeds the membership of the Roman Cath- 
olic Church. This predominance of the Protestant 
Church usually counts for little because the Protestant 
forces are so much divided. It thus happens that Prot- 
estant ideals are losing ground in our great cities. If 
Protestantism fails in our villages and country districts 
and in our great cities, it will fail everywhere else in 
our nation. If such a failure comes it will be due almost 
wholly to the sadly divided condition of Protestantism. 


THE SprrItuAL DECLINE OF SMITHVILLE 


Smithville was a small town in the hill country of 
southern Indiana. The early settlers of the village were 
people of ideals so that they early built a church on a 
wooded hill in the center of the town. The white spire 
of this church could be seen in all the country around 


286 KINGDOM) DASKS FOR *YOUNG DISCI PUES 


and on Sundays the sweet-toned bell summoned to wor- 
ship the villagers and the farmers of the surrounding 
region. The people of Smithville also built an academy 
early in the history of the village. Religion and educa- 
tion they held in high esteem. 

Thus the years went by and out of Smithville went 
many young men and young women who were an honor 
to the community where they made their homes. Not 
a few of the sons and daughters of the village climbed 
to places of responsibility in the state and in the nation. 
They had the two most important elements of char- 
acter, namely religion and education. 

About fifty years ago a change began to come over the 
quiet village. A railroad was built through its suburbs. 
People began to talk about Smithville’s becoming a great 
city. Some of the Church people became offended at 
some trifle or other and withdrew, forming another con- 
gregation under the supervision ‘of another denomina- 
tion. ‘Then an enterprising field superintendent of a 
third denomination, hearing that Smithville was to be- 
cOmetascliyeecaine into the. community, held a series of 
meetings, and organized a third church. After a time 
there came to Smithville “Come Outers” who held meet- 
ings in which they condemned all denominations except 
their own and who had one theme on which they preached 
incessantly. They said that all Christians ought to leave 
the other denominations and unite with them, because 
the Bible says very plainly, “Come ye out from among 
them, and be ye separate.” 

Well, Smithville did not grow into a city; injiaem 
it did not grow so very much in any way except in the 
number of its Church organizations. It came to pass 
that the different churches could not support a pastor on 
full time, so they had to take the part-time service of 
ministers who usually lived elsewhere and came to Smith- 
ville only on Sunday. The churches fell into decay both 
as to their spiritual life and as to their house of wor- 
ship. Boys and girls ceased to go to church or Sunday 
school in any large numbers. In fact, only about forty 
per cent of the children and young people attended any 
church or Sunday school. Those who attended Sunday 
school were present about half the time. Sunday became 


KINGDOM TASK SP RORTYOUNG DISCIPLES — 728/ 


more and more a day of amusements. Saloons crept into 
the village and seemed to flourish on the decay of the 
spiritual life of the community as mushrooms flourish on 
decaying leaves in a forest. Smithville began to have 
a bad reputation. Respectable farmers who wished to 
move to town to educate their children had once sought 
homes in Smithville, but this was now no longer the 
case. 

Smithville was going downhill in spiritual matters and 
was not prospering in material things, because there 
can be no true progress without righteousness. ‘There 
can be no true righteousness where there is no true 
faith in Jesus, the Saviour of the world, and faith in 
Jesus does not conquer a community where the professed 
followers of Jesus are divided into warring factions. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


ime lows the members oi the Early Church settled:a 
serious dissension. Acts 6:1-7. 

2. How a great controversy of the Early Church was 
settled without dividing the Church. Acts 15:1-29. 


SUNDAY SESSION 
HEALING THEEDIVISIONS* OFS LHE, CHURCH 
WiGor 12 sat 


The multiplied divisions of the Protestant Church 
have weakened it in many ways. God has made people 
to differ from one another in order that they may help 
one another. Some people are enthusiastic and im- 
pulsive; others are naturally of a more deliberate type 
of mind. Protestants have seemed to go on the theory 
that people who differ from one another ought to be 
in different denominations. Quite the opposite is true. 
The impulsive people need the help of the more delib- 
erate people, and the deliberate people need the im- 
pulsive people. The strongest Church is that in which 
there are many types of people, each type doing the work 


288 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


for which it is naturally fitted and thus helping all the 
others. Paul says that the Church is like a human body 
in which there are many different kinds of organs. The 
eye 1s’ very ‘different fromthe ‘ear, yetveach serves 
the body in its own way and each serves the other. The 
head differs from the feet, but it could not get along 
well without them, neither could the feet do much if they 
were severed from the head. Protestant Churches have 
not heeded this good advice of Paul; they have acted 
as though they thought the eyes could be cut loose from 
the ears and the head from the feet to the mutual benefit 
of these several members. 

It is good to know that of late earnest efforts have 
been made to heal the multiplied divisions of the Prot- 
estant Church. Christians are beginning to take note of 
the bad effects of disunion. They are coming to recog- 
nize Church schism as a sin. In this lesson we are to 
consider some of the steps which are being taken toward 
a reunited Protestantism in our country and in other 
parts of the world. 

Denominations Moving Toward Union. v7 our coun- 
try there is a movement toward union between denomina- 
tions closely related to one another. The main body 
of the Presbyterian Church a few decades ago consisted 
of two distinct denominations, the Old School Presby- 
terians and the New School Presbyterians. These two 
branches united in 1870. ‘There was another branch of 
the Presbyterian denomination known as the Cumber- 
land Presbyterian Church. This denomination withdrew 
from the main body of Presbyterians about a hundred 
years ago, but was reunited with the main body of that 
denomination in 1910. 

The slavery question divided a number of Protestant 
denominations into northern and southern branches. Un- 
fortunately these divisions still exist though slavery has 
been a thing of the past in our country for more than 
sixty years. These different branches of Protestant de- 
nominations which sprang out of the slavery agitation 
seem to be moving slowly toward reunion. They show 
us how difficult it is for denominations to reunite after 
their Church machinery has been thoroughly developed 
and they have become accustomed to the separation. 


INGO MM. PASKSYEORSYOUNG DISCIPLES 1289 


Church Union in Other Countries. ‘The various Pres- 
byterian Churches of Scotland have made notable prog- 
ress toward union. Most of the denominations which 
are not supported by State aid have come together in a 
United Free Church, and negotiations are under way for 
bringing the established Church into this union. In Can- 
ada the Presbyterians, Methodists, Congregationalists and 
sonrve other denominations are coming into a very close 
cooperation which is not far from an actual union. In 
many foreign-mission fields the natiye Christians insist 
on dropping the denominational distinctions which have 
been carried to them along with the Christian gospel. 

t seems probable that if we do our duty and lead the 
non-Christian nations into the Christian religion ,they 
will more than repay us by revealing to us new depths 
of truth in the religion of Jesus and by helping us to heal 
the divisions which have so greatly hindered the estab- 
lishment of God’s Kingdom on earth. 

Church Federations. In many of our larger cities 
Church Federations have been formed which are potent 
agencies for helping the Protestant denominations to 
work together and to make progress toward a reunited 
Protestantism. Under the leadership of the Federation 
the Churches put on educational and evangelistic cam- 
paigns. Under the Federation they seek to banish the 
saloons and other demoralizing agencies. Working to- 
gether is one of the best means of coming together in 
organic oneness, and the Church Federations are there- 
fore doing a good service in the movement for Church 
unity. 

Federated Churches. ‘lhe term “federated churches” 
is used to indicate a closer cooperation of the individual 
churches of a community than that signified by the term 
“church federation.” When two or more churches 
form a federated church they worship as one congrega- 
tion and have one pastor. Separate membership rolls 
are kept, however, and reports are made to each denomi- 
nation by its own part of the federated church. This 
plan has proved very helpful in villages where two or 
more Protestant churches have been struggling along 
independently. It has enabled them to secure a com- 
petent pastor who gives his full time to the field. It 


290, KINGDOM TASKS °FOR YOUNG DISGLE Ei 


has increased the attendance and made an efficient church 
school possible. 

Comity Agreements. Another method of uniting the 
Protestant forces in overchurched communities consists 
in what are known as “Comity Agreements” between 
denominations. Let us suppose that there are three 
little, struggling churches of different denominations in 
a certain village. ‘Twenty miles away is another village 
in the same condition and with the same denominations. 
In another part of the same state is a third village in 
exactly the same condition. The Protestant Church 
is dying in three villages of the state because its forces 
are divided and competing. So the leaders of these 
three denominations get together, they agree that in 
each village two of them shall withdraw leaving the 
whole field to the denomination which remains. A United 
Protestant church is thus secured for each village and 
competition eliminated. Both the denominations and the 
villages are benefited by the change. Of course, the 
agreements entered into vary a great deal, but the illus- 
tration given will make the principle clear. 

Great Causes in Which Churches Unite. Fortunately 
the divisions of Protestantism are not absolute separa- 
tions. There are a good many ways in which the Prot- 
estant Churches work together. ‘he temperance cause 
has made progress in our land because the Protestant 
Churches, almost without exception, were back of it. 
Protestant Churches unite in enterprises like the Amer- 
ican Bible Society, the Sunday School Union, and the 
Federal Council of Churches. The Sunday School Asso- 
ciations are, also, agencies in which most of our Prot- 
estant denominations cooperate. 

On the foreign-mission field, Protestant denominations 
usually codperate more than they do at home. They 
divide the field among themselves so that there is no 
competition. They often establish interdenominational 
missions. ‘They maintain many union schools and theo- 
logical seminaries. 

All these forms of codperation are encouraging because 
they are steps toward a reunited Church. We must not 
think, however, that they are all that is needed. They 
do not constitute the kind of union Jesus desired when 


BINGDOM) TASKS FORVYOUNG DISCIPLES // 291 


he prayed that his followers might be one as he and 
the Father are one. 

A Great Task for the Christian Boys and Girls of To- 
Day. From the way things are going it looks as though 
a reunited Protestantism will be possible within a decade 
or two. The boys and girls who are in Sunday school 
to-day will doubtless have an opportunity to help the 
Church to answer the prayers of Jesus. Union will come, 
not through discussion, but through working together to 
serve humanity and to build on earth a Kingdom of broth- 
erhood and righteousness. When the divisions of Prot- 
estantism have been healed, there will remain the task 
of bringing all branches of the Christian Church into 
the kind of unity which will be in harmony with the 
wishes of Jesus. The winning of all nations to Christ 
and the reunion of all true believers in his Church is the 
goal of our endeavors. 


THE REDEMPTION OF SMITHVILLE 


In our last lesson we saw how denominational divi- 
sions caused the spiritual life of Smithville to degenerate. 
In this lesson we are to learn how Smithville was re- 
deemed by the healing of its Church divisions. 

During the years when the churches of Smithville 
were losing ground, the academy did much to maintain 
the spiritual standards of the village. It became the real 
spiritual force of the place. Young people developed 
ideals there rather than in the churches, for the principal 
of the school was a godly man as were many of the 
teachers. 

It happened that at a gathering of the academy students 
they in some way fell to talking about the churches 
in the village. Some of the students were in the Sunday 
schools and other church organizations and they said to 
one another: “We have such fine times when we get 
together as academy students, why can’t we do the same 
in our church work? Why should we be all together in 
our school work and divided into little groups in our 
church work?” Some of them said they had ceased to go 
to the churches because there were so few young people 
at any of the meetings. The young people kept talking 


292 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


about the matter until the older people became inter- 
ested. The whole town began to be interested and 
people began to say, “We must have one strong church 
in the village or we will soon have none at all.” 

And so the different church congregations got together. 
They decided to disband every church and to reorganize 
under a denomination which was not represented in the 
village. This plan was finally approved by the outside 
denominational authorities and the new church was or- 
ganized. The young people could now all meet together 
and they made up quite a company. The congregation 
met in the old church on the wooded hill. Its white spire 
had risen above the tree tops all the years, but the build- 
ing itself had fallen into decay. It was not long however, 
before’ the united consresation repaired) themranunes 
building and restored it to its former attractiveness. 

An able young pastor was secured and he soon had 
organizations working, for he lived in the village and 
gave all his time to the work. A new parsonage was built ° 
and the young people raised money enough to put in 
a small electric plant to light the parsonage and the 
church. It was not long before there was a Sunday 
school crowding the church building to its capacity. 
There were also boys’ clubs and girls’ clubs and older 
peoples’ organizations which caused the church to be 
used nearly every day and every night of the week. 
People who had not gone to church for years began 
ta drop in, at first occasionally and then regularly. 
Many responded to the gospel message of the pastor 
and to the gospel message expressed by the hearty 
friendship of the church people,and gave themselves to 
Christ and his service. People came to church because 
they found in the sermons of the pastor and in fellowship 
with one another that which was helpful. 


Thus little by little Smithville was redeemed. ‘The 
saloons disappeared. The streets took on an air of neat- 
ness and prosperity. People sought homes in the town 
that they might. educate their children there. Back of 
all the spiritual and material prosperity of Smithville 
was the growing and widening faith in Jesus, a faith 
made possible because the followers of Jesus had ceased 
to be divided. | 


MNweODOM TASKS FORGYOUNG: DISCIPLES 293 


Tur LESSON PRAYER 


Our Father and our God, we ask thee to forgive thy 
children for the sin of selfishness which has so sadly 
divided the Church of thy Son. Our sins have hindered 
the progress of thy Kingdom and have caused grief to 
our Lord and Master. Give us that true repentance 
which manifests itself in reformation. Help us to work 
for a united Church which will be well-pleasing to thee. 
We ask in the name of Jesus. Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIAL 


1. A stern rebuke for those who were causing Church 
divisions. Jude 3-16. 
2. The excellency. of brotherly unity. Psalm 133. 


EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 
PRACTICING CHRISTIAN GUN DRY 
ANCtS ele? 7 250 


Christian unity is not primarily a matter of organiza- 
tion. Members of the same church and of the same de- 
nomination are sometimes far from that unity of pur- 
pose and unity of spirit which Jesus desired for his 
disciples. Being members of the same Church helps 
Christians to be united in spirit, but it does not assure it. 
Being members of different denominations, which do 
not have much to do with one another, hinders Christians 
in their efforts to be a united body of believers. ‘The 
attainment of Christian unity, therefore, depends upon 
two different types of effort; first the effort to break down 
the artificial barriers which have been raised by denom- 
inational interests and denominational organization, and 
second the effort to practice Christian unity within the 
individual church and the denomination and so far as 
possible everywhere else. 

Our Scripture lesson tells how the Christian Church at 
Antioch practiced Christian unity. When the Antioch 


294. KINGDOMELASKS FORFYOUNGIDISCIEE ES 


Christians heard that a world-wide famine was coming, 
their first thought was not of themselves, but of their 
Christian brethren in Jerusalem. Antioch was in a pros- 
perous region. A year of famine might mean hardship 
for some of its citizens, but it could hardly mean starva- 
tion. In Jerusalem, however, large sections of the popu- 
lation were never far {rom want and a famine of a year’s 
duration meant suffering and death for many people 
unless they received outside assistance. 

Antioch was a long way from Jerusalem and its Chris- 
tians were, for the most part, of a race different from that 
of the Jerusalem Christians, The Antioch Christians 
were mostly converted Gentiles, whereas the Jerusalem 
Christians were mostly converted Jews. Moreover, the 
Christians of the two places had some decided differences 
of opinion on some rather important matters. They 
differed much more fundamentally than most denomina- 
tions of our day differ from one another. ‘The Antioch 
Christians, nevertheless, did not allow any of these things 
to influence their determination to send” aid @tommuc 
brethren in Jerusalem. They practiced Christian unity 
in spite of the fact that the Jerusalem Christians were 
far away, of another race, and of a somewhat different 
type of belief. Even early in his ministry, Paul probably 
believed that to divide the Christian Church was to rend 
the body of Christ, and his spirit seems to have been 
shared by the people whom he served as a minister. 


SoME Facts to BE DISCUSSED IN THE MEETING 


We usually think of Paul as a great missionary, but 
he was also a great Church statesman. He waged a long 
battle in defense of a platform broad enough to include 
both Jewish and Gentile Christians, and in the end he 
won. He helped to preserve the unity of the Early Church 
by his travels and by his visits to widely scattered cen- 
ters of the Christian religion. When he was in prison, or 
too busy to go to these groups in person, he wrote letters 
which helped to preserve the unity of the Church. 

The temperance movement has done much to unite the 
Protestant denominations of America by giving them an 
opportunity to practice Christian unity. 

Church federations encourage Protestant denomina- 


Pima voOM TASKS FOR? Y OUNG? DISCI PEE S71 1299 


tions to work together and are therefore important 
agencies for developing Christian unity. 


REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. What kind of a unity did Jesus wish his followers 
to have? 

2. Why was Jesus so anxious to have his followers 
united in spirit and in effort? 

Oa VW hatiis the sin of schisin? 

4. Name some effects of a divided Christian Church. 

5. Tell of some movements toward a reunited Prot- 
estantism. | 

6. Name some great undertakings in which most 
Protestant Churches unite. 


BIBLE VERSES 


Fou onlOrGaleo:2/ 28 se phe4et-7 Roms 12 :5b55 
ieee leone sls i223 Phil) 13277 Peter 3:8)9, 


Topics 


1. The small but united company of disciples which 
Jesus left to establish his Church. Acts 1:12-14; 2:1, 42. 

2. What Jesus said about the danger of divisions. 
Luke 11 :14-26. 

3. The value of Christian Endeavor Unions. 

4. How mistaken loyalty may create divisions in the 
Gurrontas bacorasliy! Oa! 3: 

5. Opportunities for practicing Christian unity in our 
community. (Sunday-school association, community pic- 
nics, Christian Endeavor union.) 


PROJECTS 


1. Plan to visit some Young People’s society in some 
church of another denomination. 

2. Undertake to organize a local Intermediate Chris- 
tian Endeavor Union. | 


CHAPTER XXI 


THE SECURING OF INDUSTRIAL RIGHT bp Gis = 
NE Soe FO RUATS einer ha iar 


WEEK DAY SESSION 


DEFECTS OF OUR INDUSTRIALS Yo ian 
Amos 8:4-7; James 5:1-6 


The Prophet Amos sternly rebuked the commercial 
spirit of his day. He reproved his fellow countrymen, 
not for being industrious and foresighted, but for their 
spirit of greed. The desire for wealth had led the fellow 
countrymen of Amos to become oppressors of the poor. 
They cared more for gold than they did for the welfare 
of their fellow men. The desird for wealth had led 
the countrymen of Amos to neglect religion. The 
Sabbath and the other religious festival days had become 
irksome because they interfered with money-making. 
They said, “When will the new moon be gone, that we 
may sell grain? and the sabbath, that we may set forth 
wheat?” They cared more for gold than they did for the 
worship of God. The desire for wealth had made the 
fellow countrymen of Amos dishonest. They made the 
ephah small and the shekel great. They dealt falsely 
with balances of deceit. They cared more for gold than 
they did for honesty and truth: 

James sternly rebuked the commercial spirit of his 
day. He condemned certain rich people, not because 
they were rich, but because they used their riches to 
gratify their own selfish desires. He condemned them 
for the way they used their money and not because they 
had money. Their riches were corrupted and their gar- 
ments moth-eaten because of the wholly selfish way in 
which these riches were held. The riches were corrupted, 
too, because they had been obtained by cruelty and fraud. 
James evidently knew of rich people who were mean 
enough to cheat a hired laborer out of his wages. 

296 


PevwevOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES ©: 297 


The spirit against which Amos spoke so fearlessly 
and against which James the Just dared to take a firm 
stand, has not yet been driven from the business world. 
It manifests itself in the same ways that it manifested 
itself in the days of Amos and James. There are people 
to-day who are so anxious to become wealthy that they 
will cheat and steal. There are people who are so 
anxious to become wealthy that they never go to church 
and they break the Sabbath continually. There are still 
people so anxious to become wealthy that they will treat 
their fellow men like beasts of burden. To eliminate 
this spirit from the industry of the world and to replace 
it with a Christian spirit and a Christian system is one 
of the great tasks before the Christian Church. In this 
lesson we are to glance briefly at a few of the ways 
in which this selfish and unchristian spirit manifests 
itself in our day. 


Child Labor. In certain parts of our country thousands 
of children are employed in mills, factories, and mines. 
Many of them work under conditions which are almost 
sure to lead to physical ill health and moral degeneracy. 
Many of our states have passed laws intended to do away 
with the evil of child labor in mills and factories, but 
they have tailed to cure the evil. It is said that in spite 
of the efforts of right-minded people to reduce it, child 
labor is steadily increasing in the United States. 

Child labor is one of the sins of our industrial system. 
It grows out of the fact that the ideals of Jesus have not 
been regarded in the development of present-day methods 
or commerce and manufacture, It exists because the 
industry of to-day is carried on, at least in part, upon 
a pagan basis. 

City Slums. In practically-every great city of our 
country there are certain districts which are called slums. 
In these slums many children live in the midst of filth and 
poverty. They are deprived of the things which God has 
given to his children most lavishly. They do not have 
enough air to breathe or enough sunshine to keep them 
in health. They live where diseases flourish and where 
iniquities are so common that their souls are almost 
inevitably tarnished in the early years of life. Surely 
such conditions are not well-pleasing to God! The 


298 KINGDOM {TASKS FOR) YOUNG: DisGIPiEs 


religion of Jesus will surely find a remedy for the 
slums. 

Poverty. We have seen in a recent lesson the condi- 
tions which exist in India where a small part of the people 
are fabulously wealthy and all the rest desperately poor. 
Most of the people of India are so poor that they are 
actually hungry for feod every day of their lives. They 
are so poor that a partial failure of the crops means 
starvation for thousands of them. The religions which 
India has known for centuries have no remedy for this 
unjust distribution of wealth. The Christian religion 
has a remedy for it. The religion of Jesus can put into 
the souls of men that which will remedy even the indus- 
trial ills of India. 

Unemployment. It is a strange thing that although 
there is always plenty of work to be done in the world, 
there come from time to time, periods of unemployment. 
No one who has not had the experience can imagine what 
it means for a workingman to have a family dependent 
upon him for their daily bread and no opportunity to 
earn anything. Certain European countries are trying 
to remedy the unemployment evil by granting a small 
income to people who cannot find work. The practice is 
of doubtful value. The laborer needs an opportunity 
to work and not a small gift from the State. The Chris- 
tian religion could produce a cure for unemployment if 
it were given an opportunity to introduce the principles 
of Jesus into the industrial world. 

Unchristian Competition. “Every man for himself” 
is not a Christian rule, but it is a generally accepted rule 
in modern business. The Christian rule is: “Let every 
man seek not his own, but another’s good.” ‘The Chris- 
tian religion offers cooperation as a substitute for com- 
petition. “The survival of the fittest” is a jungle law 
where nature is “red in tooth and claw.” It ought to 
be banished from the industrial system of a Christian 
nation. 

Profiteering. The term “profiteer’ came into general 
use during the World War. It was used as a term of 
reproach to designate a person who took advantage of the 
disturbed conditions growing out of the war in order to 
enrich himself by charging unjust prices. There have al- 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES. © 299 


ways been people in business who charged “all that the 
traffic would stand” for their goods. During the World 
War, conditions were such that the traffic would stand a 
great deal. The temptations of the war-time period re- 
vealed the profiteers and it probably increased their num- 
ber. It would seem that the Christian religion must set 
bounds to the amount of profit a man may make, espe- 
cially in a time of war. 

Industrial Despotism. Not so very long ago most of 
the nations of the earth were absolute monarchies, that 
is, they maintained forms of government in which the 
monarch made the laws and enforced them. ‘The mass 
of the people had nothing to do with the laws of the 
nation except to obey them. The rulers of the nations 
clung tenaciously to this system. ‘They claimed to rule 
by a divine right bestowed upon them by the Almighty. 
The absurd idea, ofthe divine right of kings, has very 
nearly vanished from the earth. 


ieeties reat \industrial® enterprises’ of ‘the “world, 
changes are beginning to take place like the changes 
which have taken place in governmental systems. Many 
students of economics are coming to believe that we 
have developed a kind of industrial despotism. ‘Thou- 
sands of workingmen must, under our system of in- 
dustry, spend their lives working for great corporations. 
They usually have no voice in saying how the industry 
with which they are connected shall be carried on. They 
have nothing to say as to the conditions of labor or the 
number of hours which shall make up a working day. 
They have no claim on their jobs which their employers 
are bound to respect. Of course they have the privilege 
of leaving at any time, but this privilege is not much of 
a protection. 

It is for the purpose of securing better wages, better 
working conditions, and reasonable working hours that 
labor unions have sprung up. The clash between these 
unions and the industrial system maintained by em- 
ployers manifests itself in strikes, lockouts, and other 
labor disturbances. For fifty years our country has wit- 
nessed ever recurring periods of industrial strife. Other 
countries have had similar experiences and the whole 
world awaits a Christian solution of industrial problems. 


300 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 
Tue Portrsvi,LE SoAP ComMPANY GOES TO THE WALL 


John Southington was left an orphan by the death of 
his parents when he was ten years of age. From that 
time he had to make his own way in the world. He man- 
aged to get a good, common-school education and at the 
age of twenty-eight was the part owner of a soap factory 
in his native New England village. By his industry he 
gradually extended his business and made it the domi- 
nant industry of the village. Many of Southington’s 
neighbors, seeing that the soap-making business was 
prosperous under Southington’s management, bought 
shares in the soap manufactory and its capacity was still 
further increased. Many of the people of the village 
worked in the factory and earned their living in that way. 
They were friends and neighbors of John Southington, 
the manager and chief stockholder of the soap factory. 

One day a representative from one of the great soap- 
making companies of a large city called at Southington’s 
office. He explained a plan for consolidating the soap- 
making industries of the country and ended by making 
an offer. He wished Southington’s factory to come into 
this soap-making combine, and offered to give, in pay- 
ment for the factory, shares in the new company. He 
was careful to explain that Southington would become 
an officer of the new company, and that the profits arising 
from the combine would be much larger than they had 
ever been from the little factory of the village. 

John Southington had made his way from childhood 
by his own efforts and he was not anxious to enter upon 
an enterprise with which he was not well acquainted. 
He told the agent that he would think the matter over 
and talk about it with the other shareholders of the fac- 
tory. After consulting with his fellow townsmen, South- 
ington wrote to the big soap concern that he had decided 
not to enter the combine. 

In a few days the agent came again and this time he 
urged more vehemently than before that the soap plant 
of the village merge with the larger concern. Not receiv- 
ing any encouragement, he went away with some threat- 
ening words as to dire consequences which would cer- 
tainly come if Southington did not accept his offer. Sev- 


Pm GVOM TASK SabORsYOUNG DISCIPLES: 301 


eral letters came a little later and some of these repeated 
the threats which the agent had uttered. Then the let- 
ters ceased. 

In a few months Southington became aware that he 
was having an unusually hard time in disposing of the 
products of his factory. He found that the great soap 
company in the city was pressing its business in every 
field where he had sold his soap. He found that they 
were selling soap more cheaply than he could safely sell 
soap of the same kind and that they were putting on an 
advertisment campaign such as he could never hope to 
equal. Most of Southington’s customers stood by him at 
first, but gradually they fell away. 

After a year or two, the little soap factory began to 
feel the effects of the war which the great factory of the 
city was waging against it. It ceased to be a profitable 
enterprise. The villagers began to be concerned about 
the money they had invested in the factory. Southington 
believed that if they could get the most improved ma- 
chinery, the little factory could hold its own. And so the 
machinery was purchased. The money to pay for the 
improvements had to be borrowed and a mortgage was 
placed on the factory. 

For a time it looked as though Southington would win. 
He was an able manager and his workers were indus- 
trious and contented. Then the big soap company of the 
city took more drastic measures. Southington found 
that soap was being sold in his territory for a price so 
low that it would hardly pay for the raw materials needed 
to produce the soap. He simply could not compete with 
such prices for any length of time. The village people 
were soon saying that the soap factory was “going to the 
wall,” meaning that it was on the verge of bankruptcy. 
To their surprise a stranger appeared in the village, who 
offered them a fair price for their shares in the factory 
and most of them were glad to sell. 

One day John Southington was politely informed by 
letter that he was no longer superintendent of the factory 
which he had built up by his industry. The big soap 
concern had bought up shares enough to have a con- 
trolling vote in the business and, moreover, it held the 
mortgage which had been given in payment for the new 


302 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


machinery. The big soap concern having gained control 
had decided to close the little village soap-making plant. 

That night John Southington went home to tell his 
wife and children that the battle was over and that he 
had lost. The earnings of his busy years were gone and 
he and his family went away to.the West to begin life in 
some new field. The old soap plant was left to fall into 
decay and Pottsville, left without any important industry, 
declined in population. It is like a deserted village now. 
Most of the people have moved away to the large cities 
or have gone to the western states. ‘The old church has 
its windows boarded up and it is falling into decay. The 
village has all but perished as the result of the industrial 
warfare which was waged against it from one of the great 
cities of the land. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIAL 


Micah’s condemnation of industrial injustice. Micah 
2:1-11. 





SUNDAY SESSION. 
CURING-FOURSINDUSTRIALALE ES 
Matt. 12:9-14; Acts 4:32-37 


In the preceding lesson we saw that there are certain 
conditions in the industrial world which are to be de- 
plored. Ina Christian nation little children ought not to 
be compelled to live in filthy slums where they are de- 
prived of the light and air, which God has provided so 
abundantly for all his children. The children of a Chris- 
tian nation ought to be in school, not working in dusty 
mills and down in dark coal mines. Honest men ought 
to have an opportunity to work at all times, so that they 
may support their families in comfort. A Christian 
nation ought to find some way whereby workingmen 
would be paid a living wage and be given good working 
conditions. A way to carry on great business enter- 
prises without violating the Golden Rule can be found if 
we really wish to find it. In this lesson we are to con- 





KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES — 303 


sider some steps which are being taken toward the crea- 
tion of a more Christian industrial system in our country 
and in other nations. 


Jesus Emphasizes the Immeasurable Worth of the 
Individual. When Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, 
the scribes and Pharisees found fault with him. In 
answer to their criticisms Jesus said: “What man shall 
there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall 
into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, 
and lift it out?) How much then is a man of more value 
than a sheep!” No industry is carried on in a Christian 
way, no matter how great its material production may 
be, if it sacrifices the physical, intellectual, and spiritual 
good of men. It is a good thing to have coal to warm our 
homes and to move the machinery of our factories. It 
is a good thing to have cloth out of which to make our 
clothing. But in a Christian country the coal and the 
cloth ought not to be secured by child labor, which de- 
prives children of the right to a happy childhood and of 
the right to an education. Industry which is carried on 
in a way that will promote the welfare of the working 
people engaged in it, is in accordance with the ideals of 
Jesus, It puts the value of the individual above the value 
of steel rails or automobiles. 

The Disciples of Jesus Dedicate Themselves and Their 
Possessions to Service. Acts 4:32-37. The little com- 
pany of followers whom Jesus left on earth after his 
ascension to the Father was enlarged by the conversion 
of a considerable multitude on the Day of Pentecost. 
The disciples of Jesus and these newly converted people 
proceeded to set up a society which was something new 
in the world. They sold their lands and houses and put 
the money they received from these sales into a com- 
mon treasury. The apostles distributed funds to mem- 
bers of the Christian company “as any man had need.” 


Plans for holding property in common have usually 
proved rather unsatisfactory and we do not know how 
long this practice continued in the Early Church. It may 
be that these early Christians found out that following 
this plan was not the best way to handle property mat- 
ters. However that may be, the spirit which prompted 
them to act as they did is altogether admirable. They 


304 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


gave themselves and all that they had to the service of 
God and for the good of their fellow men. When all 
Christians gain this spirit and regard their possessions 
as given them for service, the industrial problems of the 
world will be solved speedily. It 1s good to know that 
many Christians are taking this attitude toward their 
material possessions, 


Profit Sharing. A good many Christian business men 
are coming to believe that they ought to share their 
profits with their employees. A Christian business man 
not long ago found that, after deducting from his year’s 
profits a good salary for himself and a fair percentage on 
his investment, he had a large sum of money left over. 
He had determined to carry on his business according to 
the Golden Rule, and therefore felt that he could not put 
this money into his own pocket without violating the 
principles of the gospel. So he called together his em- 
ployees and asked them to divide it among themselves 
as their share of the profits which had resulted from their 
labor and industry. 


Giving Employees a Share in the Management of the 
Business in Which They Are Engaged. Some of the 
leaders of great industries have devised plans whereby 
their employees are given a voice in the management of 
the business enterprise in which both the owners of the 
business and the employees are engaged. Some years 
ago the street-car companies of Philadelphia were dis- 
turbed by frequent strikes among their employees. The 
employees of these companies, for the most part, seemed 
to do as little as they could and still draw their wages. The 
companies seemed to be run on the theory that the 
employees should be worked as hard as possible and be 
paid as little as possible. Thus the companies, the em- 
ployees, and the public all suffered from misunderstand- 
ings and frequently recurring manifestations of ill 
temper. 

Finally conditions became so bad that the owners of 
the street-car lines decided that something must be done. 
They employed a superintendent who worked out plans 
whereby the employees of the street-car companies were 
given a share in the management of the transportation 
corporations. A plan was also devised whereby the em- 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 305 


ployees could buy shares in the companies. These meas- 
ures wrought a great and sudden change. Employees 
became interested in the success of the enterprise in 
which they were engaged. They began to plan how the 
street cars could serve the public better. The companies 
which had been in desperate financial straits under the 
old system, found their profits increasing. The em- 
ployees of the companies were given better wages, and 
a share in the earnings of the roads still further increased 
their income. The public received better service than it 
had ever received before. Everybody had been benefited 
because a more Christian way of running street-car lines 
had been found. 


Old Age Pensions. Many of the large business enter- 
prises of our country have made plans whereby their 
employees who have grown old in service may retire 
with a pension large enough to keep them in comfort for 
the rest of their days. This plan is in harmony with 
Christian principles of justice. The writer knew an old 
man who was employed in a great manufacturing plant. 
He had spent most of his life at a lathe where certain 
parts of a steam engine were made. The infirmities of 
age were coming and sometimes he was hardly able to 
go to his work. He insisted on going, however, even 
when he was so ill that he could hardly stand at his 
lathe. The poor old fellow was haunted day and night 
by the fear of losing his job. He had not been able to 
save very much and the specter of an old age of poverty 
for himself and his wife was ever before him. Under 
the old-age pension plan workingmen are relieved from 
these fears and these anxieties. They know that the com- 
pany they have served so long and which they have 
helped to make rich and prosperous will not turn them 
out to starve when their labor is no longer profitable. 

Employees’ Compensation Acts. Some states have 
passed laws requiring employers to pay a pension to 
their employees who are injured while at work, or to the 
families of such employees as are killed by accidents 
when in pursuit of their duties. This would seem to be 
a Christian measure. It is right that a man who is 
maimed in carrying on some industry should receive sup- 
port from that industry until he is able to work again. 


306 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 


It he is killed, his family have a just claim against the 
industry in which the head of the family lost his life. 


RussELL H. CoNWELL, A SERVANT OF HUMANITY 


Forty years ago a young man was called to become 
the pastor of a certain church in Philadelphia. The name 
of this minister was Russell H. Conwell. He had been 
a soldier in the Civil War and had been left for dead on 
one of the battle-fields of that great conflict. During his 
slow recovery from his wounds, Mr. Conwell had thought 
deeply on some of the great problems of life. He was 
determined to give up his life to the service of humanity. 
Having made this resolve he quite naturally turned to 
the ministry as the calling offering the greatest oppor- 
tunities for service. But Mr. Conwell took an even wider 
view of service than many ministers take. He was de- 
termined to make service the master note of all he did. 

After a time Mr. Conwell, Dr. Conwell he had become 
now, prepared a lecture which attracted wide attention. 
Calls began to come from all over America asking him 
to give the lecture. He might have become a rich man, 
a millionaire in fact, if he had kept for himself all the 
money he made from his lectures and had invested 
the money in business. But he was true to his resolves. 
He asked himself how he could best use this money to 
serve humanity. He knew that hundreds of young men 
and young women are eager to go to college but have no 
money to help them in doing so. He determined to use 
the money which he received from his lectures to help 
these young people to get an education. In order that he. 
might be of still greater service he started a school for 
these young people. In a few years it grew into a great 
university with hundreds of students. All over the coun- 
try you will find men and women who were students in 
the school which Dr. Conwell started and which he sup- 
ported by his money and by his labors for so many years. 

Dr. Conwell saw that the people in his section of the 
city were not adequately supplied with hospital service, 
so he organized a hospital under his own direction and 
supported largely by his own funds. This hospital has 
grown to three, in different parts of the city. Samaritan, 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 307 


Greatheart, and Garretson Hospitals were all organized 
under the direction of Dr. Conwell. 

Dr. Conwell is now (1924) past eighty years of age, 
but still very active in the church of which he has been 
pastor for many years. Some friends were recently talk- 
ing with him and jokingly remarked that he must be a 
wealthy man since he had delivered his lecture so many 
hundreds of times. Dr. Conwell replied that his house- 
hold furniture and a little life insurance was about all 
that he possessed. “You have an automobile,” said one 
of his friends. “Yes,” replied Dr. Conwell, “but I bought 
it secondhand and it is not all paid for yet.” Not every 
Christian can do what Dr. Conwell has done, but 
every Christian can and ought to have that spirit which 
looks upon life as an opportunity for service. 


Tuer LEsson PRAYER 


We thank thee, our Father in heaven, for the lessons 
taught by thy Son. We believe that his gospel is the 
cure for every ill of humanity. We believe that the in- 
dustry of the world can and ought to be carried on in 
perfect harmony with the principles of service which 
he taught. We ask thee to bless the business men who 
are trying to carry on their work in harmony with the 
teachings of Jesus. Help us to understand the problems 
of our times that we may do our part in bringing in a 
universal Kingdom of brotherhood and righteousness. 
We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen. 


SUPPLEMENTAL LESSON MATERIALS 


1. What Jesus said about the need for understanding 
the problems of the times. Luke 12:54-56. 

2. A parable which shows the wrong way to use 
wealth. Luke 12:15-21. 


308 KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 
“EXPRESSIONAL SESSION 


“DHOUVART 7." COME TO THE KINGDOMSEORSse Gr 
AVlIMECAs sDHIS” 


Esther 4:13-17; Heb. 11:39, 40; John 4:38 


In God’s plan of human redemption each generation 
has its own particular task. Jesus had this thought in 
mind when he said to his disciples, “I sent you to reap 
that whereon ye have not labored: others have labored, 
and ye are entered into their labor.” The author of The 
Epistle to the Hebrews had it in mind when he wrote 
to the Christians of his day, telling them about the work 
of patriarchs and prophets and pointing out that apart 
from the Christians of that time the work of their fore- 
fathers could not be made perfect. 

In urging his young niece, Esther, to do all she could 
to save the Jews, Mordicai said, “And who knoweth 
whether thou are not come to the kingdom for such a 
time as this?” In the lessons of this book we have 
looked at some of the greatest problems of all the ages. 
These problems have been scattered over all the earth. 
It has been pointed out that we seem to be drawing near 
to a time when many of these problems must be solved 
by the application of the gospel to them and by the light 
which the teachings and the life of Jesus shed into the 
lives of men. 

It seems certain that the boys and girls of to-day will 
be men and women in one of the greatest periods of 
human history, in a time when the Kingdom of God will 
be brought nearer than it has ever been before. That 
Kingdom has been growing through all the centuries 
since Jesus lived and taught on earth. Men and women 
have lived for it and have died for it. The labors of all 
who have loved the Kingdom have left the task of estab- 
lishing it on earth an unfinished task. Apart from the 
youth of to-day their work will not be made perfect. 
They have labored and the youth of to-day is about to 
enter into their labor. Jesus sends the youth of to-day 
“to reap that whereon ve have not labored: others have 
labored, and ye are entered into their labor.” The youth 


KINGDOM TASKS FOR YOUNG DISCIPLES 309 


of to-day is coming to the Kingdom task in a time of 
opportunity and in a time of harvest. We need not say, 
“There are yet four months, and then cometh the har- 
vest’; if we lift up our eyes and look on the fields, we 
shall see “that they are white already unto harvest.” 

Let the young people of to-day make ready for the 
great undertaking, that they may carry on what has been 
so well begun. Let each young person say in reverence, 
humility, and awe, “Perhaps I have come to the Kingdom 
for such a time as this.” 


SoME Facts to BE DIscussED IN THE MEETING 


Consciousness of a call to a great life task is one of the 
best aids to the development of a great and noble per- 
sonality. Every young person may be conscious of such 
a call, for every Christian is a coworker with God in the 
redemption of the world. 

Every young person who studies these lessons can 
have a part in helping to solve the problems which they 
take up. 

REVIEW QUESTIONS 


1. Name some defects of our industrial system. 

2. Ought Christians to use such methods as were used 
by the managers of the big soap company which de- 
stroyed the Pottsville Soap Company? 

3. What did Jesus teach regarding the value of the 
individual? 

4. Name some of the methods of carrying on business 
which result in a more Christian system of industry. 

5. How should a Christian regard his property? 


BIBLE VERSES 


ieee ee lical 40/7 Col 119 220s) Rey. 11: h>: 
ere lelime lo UliGonosl m@ornese DIR bo. 15025 
Mark 16:15. 
Topics 


Meine. call of Isaiah. Isa» 6:1-8: 

2. The call of Jeremiah. Jer. 1:4-10. 

3. The call which helped to make Paul a great and 
good man. Acts 26:15-18. 


310° KINGDOM TASKS FOR. YOUNG: DISCIPLES 


4. The task which appeals to me most among those 
studied in this book. 

5. What we need in order to be helpers in the tasks 
which we have studied. 


PRoyEcts 


1. Undertake to raise funds to send a representative 
of the class to a Young People’s conference. 

2. Appoint a committee to find out about the labor 
laws of the state and to report on the same. Include in 
the report statistics in regard to child labor in the state. 





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